New Neighbor
by squeakyfrappe
Summary: Harry has defeated Voldermort and he's in his 7th year. He meets a new girl on Privet Drive, and friendship blossoms! Will the relationship become more? Read and find out! Please R&R!
1. New Girl

A/N: Hey everybody! Yay! My first fic! Read on, and tell me what you think! Flames are welcome, just please tell me specifically what you didn't like.. Thanx and enjoy!

New Neighbor

Chapter 1

"Kira, I really need you to finish unloading your boxes, dear. Your aunt and uncle will be here tomorrow, and I don't want your room looking like you're moving out!" said Mrs. Sanden from the doorway.

Her mother went back downstairs and a very grumpy Kira left the comfy armchair in the corner and began lugging a box containing her precious things out from under her bed.

Even though the Sanden's had lived in their new house for almost two weeks now, Kira still hadn't finished moving into her new room. It wasn't as though Kira Sanden was reluctant to settle into her new home, but now that she and her family had arrived at their new home in Little Winging, she still didn't feel any sense of satisfaction. All her life Kira had felt out of place, as though she stuck out like a sore thumb. When her parents had announced that they would be moving, she had been excited! She had hoped that for just once in her life, she would feel like she belonged. No such luck.

The new neighborhood was so stuffy! Every house was the same, all lined up in a row. Perfectly manicured lawns, newly washed cars in the driveway. The people were polite, but seemed judgmental and distant.

Kira had been adopted when she was an infant, and so her unnatural appearance most likely did not help her acceptance into the snobby and oppressive neighborhood. Her hair was the most shocking tone of honey-blonde, which she had attempted to dye black, brown, or any color for that matter that would help tone down the striking color of her hair. She had tried multiple times, though every time she tried, it never worked. Somehow, the black dye seemed to fade away only a few hours after she finished coloring it. Her eyes were also what everyone in her new neighborhood would call, "abnormal." Her eyes were an exaggerated almond shape, with extremely long, full lashes. Her pupils were quite large, and oval-shaped. The coloring in her eyes was a shocking shade of purple, with small blue specks.

No doctor had ever been able to determine why in the world her appearance was so shockingly different. Doctors had attempted to find out about her birth parents, thinking that they could find some sort of explanation, but oddly enough, all records of her birth parents were missing or had been erased for some reason.

Kira sighed as she opened up the box, and saw that it contained various school trinkets, yearbooks, and old photos. The photos were of a mixture of relatives and past events, such as birthday parties and various family gatherings, none of which involved her with any friends. Kira was almost 17, but had always been considered a social outcast amongst the students of her old high school. Her odd looks and disinterest in every school subject didn't help either. She simply found no fulfillment in learning algebra or researching WWII. She did, however, have a passion for music and dance. Kira could simply dance for hours in her bedroom! Hip hop, ballet, jazz, the list went on and on. Too bad a high school student couldn't receive decent grades with just music-related grades alone, or Kira would have excelled in school.

She finished unloading the box onto her shelves, quickly changed into a white camisole, black workout shorts, and tennis shoes, and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She went downstairs to find her mother putting some unidentified object, which would probably end up being dinner, in the oven. There was just one thing people needed to know before having dinner at the Sanden's, Kira's mother was a horrible cook. Though she was such a kindly woman, that Kira and her Dad simply put up with the new experiments and odd lumps Mrs. Sanden made, and silently hoped one day, her mother would follow a recipe correctly.

"Mum, I think I'll take a little run down to the park."

"Alright dear, but please be home before dinner, I really think it's going to be scrumptious tonight!" her mother said excitedly.

"I'm sure, Mum," Kira answered before grabbing her water bottle and heading out the door.

If there was anything Kira appreciated more than music and dance, it would have to be running. Running was a way for Kira to ignore social problems at school and get in touch with her self. Not to mention it kept her body firm and fit, and kept her skin a nice golden tan, due to all the time in the sun.

She took off at a slow jog from her #9 Privet Drive home, and picked up pace as she ran down the street. The park was a few blocks down the road, just the perfect distance for her to relax and enjoy the peaceful evening.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Better watch it Potter," Dudley hissed, "We don't care what you can do with that little stick of yours, 'cause we got these!" Dudley pointed to his big burly arms as if indicating he had some sort of muscular strength amidst all the fat covering his body.

Dudley's cronies grunted as if in agreement.

"Oh my! Well in that case, I guess I really do have reason to be scared, don't I?" Harry said sarcastically, "Unless of course you do not comprehend the minute quantity of intellectual intelligence within your brain, in which case you would not be capable of grasping the fact that I, in fact, could effortlessly thwart your tactics to pummel myself by merely running away. You, my dear cousin, with all the excess obesity on your massive body, would not be able to follow, because, of course, you resemble the likes of an rotund cow."

Dudley and his friends blinked stupidly at Harry, before deciding amongst themselves that instead of deciphering what he had just said, they could instead just beat his brains out. As they turned to Harry, they realized he had already gone, and was a good quarter-mile across the park.

"ARGH!!!" bellowed Dudley and began running-- er-- waddling after his cousin.

But before they could even see what was happening, Harry had moved out of their line of vision and had simply moved on to enjoying his quiet walk in the park.

After having returned from Hogwarts a few weeks prior, long walks in the park were the only way Harry could sort out his thoughts. What an insane year it had been. Voldemort had been defeated, thanks to Harry and the Order, and the wizarding world had begun to continue life without the constant threat of the Dark Side. There had been much rejoicing, but Harry had been almost thankful when Dumbledore had sent him to live with the Dursley's for the summer rather than the Burrow. Even though he knew he should probably feel so proud, honored and good about himself, he didn't. He felt lost. After Sirius fell behind the veiled curtain in the Ministry of Magic in his 5th year, he'd never felt complete. He never had anyone to turn to, to confide in. Of course he had Ron and Hermione, but no one to truly love and care for. Sirius had been like a father to him. Without him, Harry felt so alone all the time.

As he rounded a corner near the playground, he was suddenly jarred out of his wary thoughts. There stood a girl with the most stunning honey-blonde hair he had ever seen. She had her back to him, and was apparently stretching out her legs using a bench. From the side, he could tell she had quite a nice body, very shapely and thin. He was rather surprised because he had rarely ever seen anyone around his age on Privet Drive before besides Dudley and his cronies, and certainly not a good-looking one at that. He walked up to the girl, who had finished her stretching. She appeared to have heard him approaching, and turned around.

"Um, hi. I'm Har--" Harry said, stopping mid-sentence. The girl's eyes startled him for a second, as they were huge, oval-shaped, and-- well, purple!

Harry quickly shook his head, realizing he WAS trying to introduce himself, and said, "Hi, I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

XXXXXXXXXX

Having heard someone approaching from behind, Kira turned around quickly and saw a young man talking towards her. He had on rather shabby looking clothes, but not too bad. He was very tall and thin, with extremely messy black hair, which stood up at all different angles. He was not at all unsightly, in fact, his looks weren't half bad. He had on rather peculiar glasses though, and Kira noticed a very strange looking scar on his forehead. It resembled a lightening bolt.

She took note of his mishap at introducing himself, and she knew it was obviously because of her eyes. However he recovered rather quickly, which she was thankful for, and introduced himself nicely.

"Hello, I'm Kira," she replied.

"I uh, haven't seen you around here at all… Are you new? Just moved here?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, we moved into #9 a couple weeks ago."

"Oh cool," Harry said. But as soon as he opened his mouth to say more, they heard a gruff, "There he is!" from behind Harry.

Harry whirled around, recognizing the voice, and saw to his disgust his cousin Dudley, followed by his loyal band of neighborhood bullies.

"Oh my gosh, run!" Harry yelled to Kira. At first she thought he was frightened, but when he looked up at him, he had a grin on his face.

"C'mon," he told her, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the playground.

They ran through playground quickly, stopping only once to laugh as Dudley's friend Jed tripped clumsily over a step.

It was quite fun to Kira, running away from a band of extremely fat boys, with the biggest one in front waving his arm after them like a baton and yelling, "GET EM!!!" After a little while, Kira and Harry were still running, and Kira was surprised that such portly guys could chase after them for so long. When they reached some trees, Harry quickly jumped into the bushed, dragging Kira along with him. He put his finger to his lips and they waited for about a minute until they heard a big huffing and puffing Dudley run right past. A minute later and they both burst out laughing.

"Who was that?!" Kira giggled.

"Just my ole cousin Dudley," Harry replied, "Kinda ticked em off earlier when I foiled their plans of beating me up. Don't worry, as long as you can run, he'll never catch you, too much extra weight." Harry winked at her, then laughed.

Kira suddenly realized how close she was sitting to Harry and quickly stood up. She then also remembered what her mother had said to her.

"Oh no, I better get going, I'm supposed to be home for dinner any minute." She said hurriedly. Harry stood up, brushed off his pants and together they started off towards the street.

"Hey that was quite fun, if I do say so myself," Harry said, "Are you doing anything tomorrow by chance?"

"Um, no, I'm sure we can get together to hang out," Kira replied, "How bout at noon? I have something planned tomorrow evening."

Harry grinned. "Great! Until tomorrow then."

"Yeah, gotta run though!" Kira said, mentally reminding herself she was supposed to be at dinner RIGHT now. "Bye!"

She took off running towards her house and when she glanced back, Harry flashed her a smile and waved. As she continued on, she felt an odd feeling. Acceptance? Maybe, but the thought that surprised her the most was that she didn't feel like she blew another chance for a friend. It was the first time she felt… well, good around someone her own age.

'_Well Mr. Harry Potter, maybe this neighborhood won't turn out that bad after all_,' she thought and with the quick memory of his genuine smile in her mind, she continued running towards her house.

A/N: So did you absolutely hate it? Sorry, not much happened in this chapter, but I had to give some background on them and have them meet each other. Don't worry I'll explain why she looks different… and by the way, the story is supposed to start at the beginning of summer after Harry's 6th year. READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!!


	2. A Date?

A/N: Ooooo, thank you so much to MorbidShel!!! My first reviewer! YAY!!! Oh boy, I'm so excited! Lol, anyhow, I forgot to put a disclaimer in last time so here it is:

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the wonderfully talented author, J. K. Rowling! Except of course for the people you don't recognize from the books.

Well, this chapter is out a little earlier than expected, cuz I'll be leaving this next week.

Enjoy!

New Neighbor

Chapter 2

Kira awoke the next morning feeling refreshed and happy, which was a nice change. Most mornings she found herself extremely dreary and tired.

Kira quickly got out of bed and in her pajama's she trudged downstairs. Her mother was back to her cheerful self this morning (The previous evening when Kira arrived home later than planned she was a bit perturbed and excused Kira from having dinner. For this Kira was thankful, because the odd little wobbly bubbles on the top of her mother's homemade asparagus casserole looked questionable.) and, to Kira's delight, had let her father make breakfast since he had the day off from work. Her mother was happily reading a magazine at the table, and her father was preparing what looked like a mouthwatering platter of blueberry pancakes.

"Hello Mum, hello Dad," said Kira as she slid into her spot next to her mother.

Her mother glanced up from her magazine.

"Well aren't we just jolly this morning," her mother said, eyebrows raised, "has anything in particular happened?"

"No, not much, just met someone at the park yesterday who seems nice. If you don't mind, we thought we'd meet up at noon today so we could walk around town, if that's okay with you of course, Mum," Kira said in a rush.

Mrs. Sanden exchanged a confused look with Mr. Sanden before telling her daughter she should probably hurry up and eat, seeing how it was already 10:30 in the morning and Kira had not been in the shower yet. Kira smiled, quickly finished her pancakes, which were, in fact, fabulous, and ran upstairs. After a quick shower she contemplated what to wear.

'_That is odd, why do I even care how I'll look for Harry?_' she thought, '_Do I care?_'

She shrugged the thought out of her mind and quickly decided on a yellow halter top, which complimented her stunning hair color, and her favorite pair of faded jeans. She left her hair down to air dry, and applied a small amount of make up, including some clear lip gloss. After tossing a pair of sandals on her feet, she saw the clock. 11:40am. Perfect, just enough time to walk down to the park.

Running back downstairs, she quickly kissed her mother and father. Her mother reminded her to be back by 4 o'clock, due to her aunt and uncle who were coming for dinner, and then Kira was out the door before you could say, 'wait up!'

"How strange," said her mum.

"I agree," her father said, "but I suppose her making some friends can't be anything but good for her, don't you think?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Harry's morning was not near as pleasant as Kira's had been, but he couldn't complain. Dudley had not made any threats on his life all morning, and Aunt Petunia only scoffed in his direction twice. Thankfully, Uncle Vernon had already left for work, so Harry had been free of his nasty temper.

After eating a grapefruit and some toast, Harry went upstairs to get ready. He hopped in the shower and after getting out, dressed himself. He had absentmindedly picked out one of his not-so-ragged t-shirts, and his good jeans, though he himself hadn't noticed.

And now there he stood, in front of the mirror, contemplating how he would try to tame his unruly hair. After several futile attempts, he gave up, seeing how his hair seemed to deliberately want to disobey him no matter how much he tried to flatten it. After cleaning his glasses with a simple "Conspicio" spell, he headed back downstairs.

Since turning 17 a little while ago, Harry was very thankful he could finally use his wand outside of school. It was very helpful, for both practical and entertaining uses. He murmured to his aunt he'd be gone most of the afternoon. He received a scoff in return, and quickly left the house through the front door. As he reached the street, he could still hear Dudley's immense snores coming from the upstairs bedroom.

XXXXXXXXXX

Walking along Privet Drive, Kira was beginning to feel a little apprehensive about meeting Harry for the afternoon.

'_What will we talk about?_' she wondered.

Her nervous thoughts were put to rest when she saw Harry sitting on a bench, waiting for her. He grinned when he saw her, and she smiled coyly back in return.

"I figured we could walk into town a bit, maybe get some lunch?" Harry asked once she had reached him.

"Of course!" she exclaimed, but suddenly remembered. Her smile faded a bit.

"I didn't really bring any money though… I suppose I could run back and grab--"

Harry cut her off mid-sentence.

"Nonsense! I brought enough for the both of us," Harry said. He grinned. "And so without further ado, let's go!"

They left the park, walking down the main street of Little Winging.

"So," Kira started, breaking the silence between them, "will you be going to South King high school when summer ends?"

"Um, naw, I go to a… boarding school of sorts." Harry said cautiously, "It's a ways from here."

"Oh," said Kira, a tad disappointed. '_Was he hiding something?_' '_No, of course not Kira! It's just a boarding school…_'

They continued walking down main street, just talking. Harry entertained Kira with some comical stories of his cousin's stupidity, and she told him a little about her dancing. It felt so natural to Kira, and she wondered why. It wasn't like she hadn't **ever** had friends before, but at those times when she did, she had always felt awkward.

They stopped for lunch at a small deli, and afterwards bought ice cream. They spent a while at the local arcade, Kira beating Harry at most of the competitions, though Kira suspected a few times he was letting her win. They laughed together, and playfully shoved each other when one teased the other. At three thirty Kira told Harry they should probably head back, since she had to prepare for dinner with her relatives.

Walking back, Harry asked, "what sort of relatives?"

"My favorite aunt and uncle," Kira replied, "I love whenever they come to visit. I suppose my parents think them strange a bit, but I love their quirkiness."

"Well my aunt and uncle would be what you would call, 'quirky' also, but I sure not in the same way," Harry replied, and went on to describe his aunt and uncle. Kira laughed in all the right places, whenever Harry animatedly described something comical, like Vernon's three chins.

"I hadn't realized you live with your aunt and uncle," said Kira when he had finished. "If you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?"

"They died," Harry said. When Kira opened her to ask the circumstances, Harry said, "and it's kind of complicated," rather defensively.

"Oh, okay," said Kira, giving him a questioning look. She decided to leave him be, since he was obviously touchy about the subject.

When they neared #4, Kira said, "well, maybe I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Wait a minute, you. What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't walk you home?" Harry asked her jokingly.

Kira smiled. "Not a very good one I suppose."

Once they reached #9, Kira turned to face him.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow then?"

Harry took a step towards her.

"Of course," he said. He was standing fairly close now. '_Geez, he's tall_," Kira noted.

"Um, well, I had a good time today," she said, blushing.

"Mmhmm," he murmured, and he leaned down and gently kissed her cheek.

He pulled away slowly, and Kira smiled. "See you," she said and turned towards her house.

When she reached her door, she turned around and waved.

Harry flashed her a grin, right before she entered her house.

Kira smiled to herself, remembering how soft his lips felt against her cheek. She walked through the house, and was glad to find a letter on the refrigerator. It was a note from her parents telling her they had left for the supermarket to grab some things for dinner. She was thankful they had left, because had they seen her with Harry, they most certainly would have bombarded her with questions the second she walked in the door.

She bounced up the stairs and entered her bedroom. She freshened up at her vanity and when she heard her parent's car in the driveway, she went back downstairs to help bring in the groceries.

XXXXXXXXXX

'_Why did I kiss her again?_' Harry wondered to himself. It was only a kiss on the cheek after all, but… '_She is pretty in any case, soft, full lips, clear skin… and those eyes, sheesh! They're almost enchanting! Her hair is so striking too…and of there's her athletic body, nice. Wait, do I fancy her??_' Harry shook the thought from his mind. She was a muggle! He couldn't fancy her, it would never work. He could never date someone and hide his biggest secret from her the entire time.

'_No_,' he thought to himself, '_I can't let this go too far, it wouldn't be fair to her_.'

And with that he stepped into his house, but not before wondering how her full lips would feel against his…

A/N: SOOOO, what did you think?? This chapter was a little shorter than my first, but if I got into the dinner Kira is gonna have w/her aunt and uncle, it would be too long.

Ummmm… please forgive me if I make up some spells for Harry to use, like the "Conspicio" one… I'm sure there is an actual non-made up on in the books, I'm just too lazy to look it up. And I know Harry's birthday is probably later in the summer, but oh well, I changed it, don't sue me!

Leaving for a family trip tomorrow, so won't have chapter three for you for an entire week! Okay, now go Read & Review!!!


	3. Another World

A/N: Hey everyone, thanks to the few others who reviewed. Sorry it's taken me so long to update... When I got back from my trip I kinda put off finishing this chapter for a bit, lol... ok enjoy!

New Neighbor

Chapter 3

When Kira's parents had finished preparing dinner, Kira quickly helped her father tidy up the house. Her dear aunt and uncle would arrive any minute, as it was now 5 o'clock.

DING DONG!

"They're here!" exclaimed Mrs. Sanden.

Kira and her parents rushed to the front door to meet their company.

When Mr. Sanden opened the door, he was immediately enveloped in a bone-crushing hug from Kira's favorite aunt Ramona.

"DAVIE!" Aunt Ramona cried, "it's been a a while hasn't it?"

Aunt Ramona turned from Mr. Sanden to wrap Mrs. Sanden in a tight embrace, while Uncle Griffin shook hands with Mr. Sanden.

Like Kira, her dear aunt and uncle would've been looked down upon by the other residents of Privet Drive. For as long as Kira could remember, Aunt Ramona and Uncle Griffin had always dressed like they were oblivious to what they pulled out of their closet each morning. Aunt Ramona was wearing a magenta floral dress with white panty-hose and green galoshes, while Uncle Griffin sported a think orange sweater with black trousers and red suspenders. While her parents had always found them a bit strange, Kira loved everything about them. She had always felt she had a special bond with them, though she could never explain why.

When Ramona had finished her hug with Mrs. Sanden, she turned, saw Kira, and shrieked, "My dear Kira!" She then embraced Kira in the third bone-crushing hug to take place that evening. Griffin joined in as well and soon Kira was smothered in between them.

"Oh, I've missed you two!" Kira said happily, though it came out a bit muffled.

Grinning, Griffin pulled away from Kira and said, "My, you've grown taller! Growin' like a weed, I say!"

Kira smiled at him as Ramona parted from her.

"Oh, I agree with your uncle dear, you're growing like a weed!" said Ramona, "now tell me how my favorite niece if fairing in this new neighborhood of hers."

Griffin and Ramona were not acutally blood relatives of Kira's parents. They were more like close family friends. Her parents had met them a little after they had adopted Kira and Griffin and Ramona had taken an immediate liking to Kira. Ever since they had visited her frequently.

"Well I--" Kira started but was cut off my her mother.

"Now Kira, I would think your aunt and uncle are exhausted from their drive, so I suspect we should start on dinner?"

"My, yes of course!" exclaimed Ramona, "I'm sure you've made something wonderful for us to eat tonight, Vera."

"Oh yes, I think so too," Kira's mother answered happily.

Together they walked into the dining room where an array of food dishes were waiting for them. A few dishes looked suspicious, but the sweet potato pie didn't look half bad. Kira was thankful for this. After all, she was hungry.

As they settled down to eat, Mr. & Mrs. Sanden filled Griffin and Ramona in on the new neighborhood, jobs, and finances. Just as the group started on dessert (key-lime pie with whip cream), Ramona turned to Kira.

"So dearie, back to my question from earlier, how've you been doing?"

"Oh, it's been okay. The park is nice, it's right down the street. I go there often…" Kira replied.

"Met any friends?" Griffin asked. Kira thought she saw an odd glint in his eye, but ignored it.

"Um, I suppose so. I met Harry at the park a couple of days ago." answered Kira.

"The one you met with earlier today, honey?" hey father asked absent mindedly.

"Yes, Dad."

They ate in silence for a while until Kira noticed Ramona and Griffin exchanging peculiar glances. Uncle Griffin had a strange twinkle in his eye and Aunt Ramona had a silly smirk on her face.

Kira stared at them for a second and then they both turned towards her. Uncle Griffin broke the silence.

"Um, Kira dear…" he started, "now may be a good time to tell you the other reason why we've come to visit you today. Aside from wanting to see you, of course."

"Huh?" Kira said blankly.

"Er, what we mean, sweetheart, is that there are a few things we've come to tell you tonight." said Aunt Ramona rather excitedly.

Kira was still confused. But whatever they had to say to her, she'd hear them out.

"Okay.." said Kira cautiously, "what do you need to tell me then?"

"Well, for starters," Griffin answered cheerfully, as if nothing was amiss, " you won't be attending South King high school in the fall."

"Er…" Kira said intelligently.

"What he means is, dear, you're a witch." Ramona paused for a second and Kira's mind went blank. "Your birthparents were highly-esteemed in the wizarding world, but we weren't able to find documented proof to prove it to the Ministry until a few days ago."

Kira glanced at her parents. They looked dumbfounded.

"Umm, Auntie, I don't think it's possible to me to be a witch… besides, all records of my birthparents have been either lost or erased."

"Lost, Kira, and now found," Griffin said with yet another twinkle in his eye. "Which reminds me," he reached into his back pocket, "this is for you."

He handed her a yellowish envelope, address in emerald green to, "Miss K. Sanden, Upstairs Bedroom, 9 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey."

Kira slowly opened the envelope, breaking a bright purple seal with a large letter "H" pressed into it. She pulled out the letter and read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Miss Sanden,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Due to reasons which will be explained to you by Mr. Griffin and Ramona Bloxton, we apologize for the delay of your letter. Enclosed is a list of your needed school book and supplies. We will be sending an associate from our school on the 10th of August to escort you to purchase your school things. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

A billion questions exploded inside of Kira's head but Kira's dad broke his silence before she could ask any of them.

"Uh, Ramona, Griffin, I think we need to talk to you alone for a sec…" he said uncertainly.

Kira got up and walked shakily out to the back deck.

She lowered herself down onto a bench and looked up at the darkening sky.

'_A witch? What the heck! Witches were supposed to be the evil ones in movies with a green nose and warts! Eew…_'

Kira glanced back inside the house where her aunt and uncle were talking animatedly to her parents, who looked utterly confused.

But her birthparents… Until now, she'd never even thought of them… Was there another world out there that she was destined to be a apart of? Her birthparents were a part of it…

A strand of striking honey blonde hair blew into her face. She stared at it and a thought struck her.

Since she hadn't been a part of the world her birthparents had been a apart of, was that why she always felt so alone?

Kira looked up at the sky once more.

'_Maybe I won't feel like an oddball at-- what was it… Hogwarts?_' Kira giggled, '_funny name._'

She furrowed her brow.

'_Maybe this path is the one for me! A chance for me to finally feel like I belong!_'

A small smile played on her lips as she stared at the night sky. She heard a sound and swiveled around to see Aunt Ramona walking towards her.

"Hello dear, may I join you?" she asked, a smile on her face.

"Yeah, sure…"

Aunt Ramona softly sat down on the bench beside Kira. She sighed.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry that it's taken so long to get this news to you. But your parent's records--"

Kira cut her off.

"Did you know my birthparents?"

"Um, yes dear… I knew them distantly. A friend of a friend you could say."

"Where are they?"

Ramona looked uncomfortable. "Kira dear, it is quite a long story…"

"Tell me."

Ramona sighed yet again.

"Kira, at the time you were born, the wizarding world was not a safe place. Bad things were happening. Bad things you will learn about later on."

Kira opened her mouth to protest but Ramona held a finger to the younger woman's lips.

"No, I won't tell you right now dear, but at the time, your parents felt it was in your best interest, as their child, to send you into hiding. So after you were born, your parents sent you into the muggle wor--"

"Muggle-wadah?" Kira asked quizzically.

"Muggles. Not magic people. Like your parents in there." She motioned towards the house, where Kira's parents were still talking quietly with Uncle Griffin.

"Anyhow, your parents-- _birth_parents sent you into hiding in the muggle world. Later on… they were killed." She paused and looked at Kira. Kira was looking back with a curious look in her purple eyes.

"And so, a bit later on, your parents finally adopted you, and here you sit." Ramona sighed… again.

'_Okay,_' Kira thought, '_sounds believable…_' Another questiong popped into her head.

"If all records of me were lost, then how could know who I was? How did you know that I-- _belonged_ in your world?"

Ramona smiled at her. "When we met your parents, who had recently adopted you at the time, and then met you, we knew from your appearance then you were-- a bit different. So, we did a bit of research."

"But then why don't you look like me? With the eyes and hair, I mean…"

"Dear, we found that your mother--" she paused with a twinkle in her eye, "was half faery."

Kira jaw dropped. "Huh?"

"Half faery dear. I know that here faeries are nothing but a silly tale, but in our world…" Her eyes twinkled once again.

"They're real?!" Kira exclaimed.

Ramona chuckled. "Yes sweetie. As so, we knew that since a faery is a magical creature, and muggles can't even see them in the first place, we knew that you must've had a magical background."

"Oh," was all Kira could manage.

They sat in silence for a while. 

"So, are my parents gonna let me go?" Kira asked tentatively.

"Umm… I think you're going to have to talk to them about that."

Kira looked towards the house. Her parents had left the room and Griffin was coming outside, to retrieve Ramona, she guessed.

"Hey Kira, I think we need to be leaving now," he said with a big quirky smile on his face.

"But wait! What did my parents say?!" Kira cried expectantly.

Griffin turned to Ramona, "yes I really think we should be going, hon."

Kira mumbled to herself in annoyance. As her aunt and uncle turned to leave, a certain boy crossed her mind.

"Aunt Ramona, Uncle Griffin, wait! Who can I tell about this? Can I tell my friends?"

Ramona turned towards Kira. "No sweetie, I'm sorry. No muggles aside from your parents can know about any of this."

Kira looked down, disappointed. "Okay," she said quietly.

As Aunt Ramona and Uncle Griffin left, Kira wondered about Harry. What would she tell him? And how could she NOT tell him about all that's happening? After all, she couldn't exactly tell him she was a witch, he'd probably look at her like she was insane and never talk to her again!

'_Unless of course he was a-- nah, the chances of that are very unlikely,_' she scolded herself.

She walked through the house, and not meeting up with her parents, who were talking in whispers in the living room, went up to her bedroom. She changed into her pajama's and slipped into her bed. A little while later her mother peeked her head into Kira's room.

"Kira, sweetheart, you awake?" she asked a bit nervously.

"Yes, mum," Kira answered, hoping for a chance to talk about what had happened that night.

Her mother stepped fully into her room and gently sat on her bed.

"Dear, I know you're wondering about-- what we think, and we've… talked about it and decided that you and only you can decide whether or not you want to go to that-- er, place-- in the fall." Her mother looked a little uncomfortable.

Kira looked thoughtful.

"Mum, you know that I have trouble in school… and I'm an outcast most of the time…"

Mrs. Sanden opened her mouth to protest but Kira quickly continued her train of thought before her mother could say anything.

"And I think… that this could be a new beginning. You know, somewhere where I could finally feel like I belong… If my birthparents were apart of Ramona and Griffin's world, then I think I must belong there too." Kira finished quietly.

Mrs. Sanden looked at her daughter admiringly.

"You know Kira, you're not exactly the little girl you were to me a few years back." Kira smiled and her mother continued, "and you're old enough to make your own decisions. Even if I feel this… opportunity of yours is a little out of the ordinary…"

Her mother finished and smiled at her only daughter.

"Oh thank you, mum! I love you." Kira sat up and gave her mother a hug.

Her mother glanced at the clock and exclaimed, "My goodness, Kira! You may be almost seventeen, but that's no excuse for you to be up this late!"

Kira grinned and snuggled back under the covers.

Mrs. Sanden kissed her softly on the forehead and silently left the room.

A/N: Okay sorry this chapter gets away from the whole Kira/Harry storyline but now Kira knows shes going to Hogwarts! Yay! And neither Harry nor Kira know that the other is a witch/wizard! ::smirks evilly:: BUA HA HA HA!!! Oh and when you review, please be brutally honest, I REALLY need to know what's going on in your head! lol, ok now review!


	4. An Unexpected Swim

A/N: Sheesh! For some reason this chapter was extremely hard to write! Writer's block, I guess. Thanx so so SOOOO much to those who reviewed! I love you!

Oh and if any of you want to read an absolutely WONDERFUL fanfic, read **Masquerade**, by **draigonfire**. I LOVE that fic!!!!! OR, another fabulous one is **The New Girl**, by **hunni07**!!!

Okay enjoy!!!

__

New Neighbor

Chapter 4

Harry turned. The opposite side of the room opened. A Light. A figure glided into the room.

"Kira?" Harry asked.

Kira smiled. She gracefully walked towards Harry, stopping right in front of him. A sudden breeze arose and Harry could feel her silky honey-blonde hair against his cheek.

"Kira," he breathed.

Kira reached up her hand to trace his cheek, but stopped before she touched him. Her beautiful eyes widened as she looked beyond Harry. Harry turned to see what was wrong.

A veil. A black veil.

Kira screamed. Harry whirled around but Kira was gone. He quickly turned back to the veil just as a figure with shaggy black hair fell backwards through it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" Harry screamed, and tried to run towards the veil. His feet wouldn't move.

'What's wrong?!' Harry wondered frantically, looking down at his feet.

Suddenly a sharp twinge shot through his forehead.

"What the--"

A high cold laugh. Harry's body went cold, and he was falling. Falling down, down, down. He looked up as he fell and saw a pair of glistening green spectacles. His world went black.

Harry awoke in a pool of cold sweat. He was lying on the floor, his sheets a tangled mess around his feet.

'_Gah! Third time this month!_' Harry thought angrily. Though this was the first time with Kira involved.

"Weird," he said aloud. He glanced at the clock. 5:48 am. These troubling dreams were starting to annoy him, because he was tired of losing sleep. Usually he liked to sleep in.

He lay back down on his pillow, staring up at the ceiling. A certain shaggy-haired man entered his thoughts.

'_Ah, Sirius… why can't you be here!?_' Harry wondered furiously.

Harry often wondered what his life would be like if Sirius had not died. With Voldemort dead and all, most likely Harry wouldn't be living with the Dursley's. He and Sirius would have a house somewhere, perhaps near the Burrow. They'd have quidditch competitions now and then and at night they would stay up late while Sirius told him hilarious stories of Harry's father and the Marauders' adventures…

'_Knock it off! He's dead! He's gone!_' Harry screamed inside his head.

When Sirius had first disappeared behind the veil, Harry had refused to believe it. Sirius couldn't have died, all he did was fall! But after many long months and Sirius had not appeared anywhere, Harry had slowly come back to reality. Though, a small part of him still refused to believe his godfather was truly gone. It didn't help that Dumbledore had never given him any particularly solid answers to his godfather's disappearance.

Harry sighed. He missed Sirius more than anything in the world. He had admired Sirius very much. When Harry needed advice, it was Sirius he turned to. Before Voldemort had been killed, and Harry was under a lot of pressure and was fed up with life, Sirius was the one person who seemed to understand.

Suddenly a stunning blonde came into his mind.

He remembered Kira had been in his dream this time. He wondered why. It wasn't as though she had anything to do with Sirius or Voldemort or anything… His thoughts quickly drifted to the great time they had together a few days before.

'_Maybe I'll call her today,_' he thought. After all, he had gotten her number a few days prior.

Harry sighed once again, his heart a little lighter, and turned over on his side, attempting to salvage the little time he had left to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

RING! RING!

The obnoxious rings of Kira's bedside phone abruptly woke her up. Still half asleep, Kira lifted her hand to the ringing phone and picked it up. With effort she brought the phone to her ear and muffled a groggy, "Hullo?"

"Kira? Is that you?" a familiar voice said, which sounded much more awake than her own.

"Huh? Oh, uh, Harry?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah, uh, hey did I wake you up?"

"Er-- naw, you yawn didn't…"

Harry laughed.

"Yes I did, and I'm sorry," he said sheepishly, "I should let you go, I was just calling to say hi."

"No! Er-- I mean, I was about to get up anyways," Kira lied.

"Oh, okay. Well, I kinda had another reason for calling. Besides just saying hi, I mean."

"Yeah?"

"Are you doing anything today? 'Cause if you aren't, I figured we could go to the park across town. You know, the one with the basketball courts and pond?"

Kira smiled at the telephone.

"Oh no! I'm not doing anything at all today!" she replied, a little too excitedly, "just give me enough time to get ready."

Harry also smiled. "Okay! Well, since it's already kind of late, how about we meet at… 3:00? In front of your house? And if your parents don't mind, we could get dinner afterwards I suppose."

"That would be perfect!" Kira said happily, "and my parents won't mind, they're off spending the day together."

"Great! Well, until 3:00 then," Harry said.

"Awesome! Bye!"

Now fully awake, Kira sat up in bed. She glanced at the clock, and saw that it was already noon. She was bubbling with anticipation to see Harry, since she hadn't seen him since the day her aunt and uncle came with the big news…

Kira thoughts trailed off. Oh bugger, how was she going to keep the whole witch-thing from Harry? Of course she could just _not _tell him, but that would be so hard! During the past few days, she had caught herself missing him. And she'd known him what, a week? Crazy, she figured. After all, she wouldn't even be able to see him when summer ended, seeing how she was going to Hogwarts and he went to that boarding school of his. Part of her was really disappointed because she really did like Harry. At least as a friend. He was the only one who made her feel completely comfortable. Something about Harry made her want to trust him.

Kira reluctantly rolled back the fuzzy warm blankets and got out of bed. After she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped a fluffy towel around herself and stepped in front of her closet.

After much contemplation, she decided on a lacy beige camisole with green shorts. She pulled her hair up into a bun and proceeded to accessorize her look with dangly earrings and her favorite charm bracelet. She put on little make-up, only a bit of smoky eye color that brought out the blue in her eyes and lip gloss.

"Perfect," she said aloud as she looked at herself in the mirror.

'_I put a lot of effort into how I look today, but that doesn't have anything to do with Harry does it?_' she wondered to herself as she tromped downstairs.

She didn't dwell on that thought however, because she grabbed a quick breakfast from the kitchen. When she finished, she brushed her teeth. She was just slipping on her sandals in the front hall when the doorbell rang. Kira opened the door to find Harry standing on her doorstep in shorts and a t-shirt.

He grinned when he saw her and said, "hey, you ready to go?"

She smiled back at him.

"Yeah! Let me grab my bag."

Kira snatched her purse from the shelf and walked outside with Harry. It was a gorgeous day on Privet Drive, the sun was shining and the temperature was warm.

They walked along the sidewalk, towards town.

"So how was the visit with your aunt and uncle?" Harry asked, breaking the contented silence.

"Oh it was great! They're so fun to visit with. They actually came with big news--" Kira stopped herself.

'_Oh crap. Why did that just slip out!_'

"Oh? Good news or bad news?" Harry asked.

'_Geez no backing out now, Kira. Boy you screwed this up. Muggles can't KNOW remember?!_'

Kira stopped the conversation inside her head in order to say, "Erm, good news I guess. Um… They were just telling me that um, I got-- accepted to another school. Instead of South King, I'll be attending… um… a boarding school?"

'_Gah! Could you make it sounded any more suspicious?!_' Kira scolded herself.

Harry looked at her strangely for a the briefest moment then turned away.

"That's cool," he said casually, "are you glad?"

"Um, kind of I guess…" Kira said uncertainly.

"Cool."

They continued walking towards Mayberry Park, on the other side of town. When the reached it, Kira saw that it was beautiful! Much nicer than the park where she had met Harry. There were many gardens, all perfectly shaped and cut. A large pond, well more like a lake, was off to one side, where you could see a few boats and canoes. A children's area was off the right, as was a basketball court. Kira immediately pulled Harry towards the court.

"C'mon, let's play!" she said excitedly. Kira had always enjoyed basketball, but had never played it in school because she needed the extra time to keep her grades up.

"Er, I don't know how, Kira!" Harry said, laughing as Kira yanked on his arm.

Kira laughed, "then I'll teach you!"

The next hour was spent on a playful game of basketball, which Harry wasn't too bad at, Kira noted. When the game was finished, they both sank down onto a bench on the bridge over the pond.

"Geez, now I'm really hot," Kira said, fanning her face with her hand.

"No kidding," Harry said. He was exhausted too. "Good game though." He grinned at her.

"Ha, and you _sooo_ lost, mister!"

"You wish!" He said, laughing.

"Na uh!" Kira argued playfully.

He stood up and chuckled, "how can you say that? I may be new at basketball, but I made a fair opponent."

Kira stood up as well. "Maybe you did, but that doesn't mean you won, buster!"

Harry held up his hands in surrender and laughed, "Okay! Okay! You win!"

"Ha, you bet I did!" Kira cried, pushing her finger into his chest. For a split second she realized in her mind how close she was standing to the edge of the bridge, but it was too late. By pushing her finger into Harry's chest, she was pushed back just a _little_ too far, and arms thrashing and legs flailing, she fell backwards into the pond.

Her shoes touched the sandy ground and she stood up in the water to see Harry bent over laughing.

"Ha, I guess you lost!" he sputtered between laughs.

"No fair! If I have to get wet," she reached up grabbed his ankle, "then you do too!"

With one swift yank she pulled Harry into the pond with a **_SPLASH_**. He came up out of the water smiling, wiped the water out of his face, and took off his glasses to examine how wet they were. He grinned at her and said playfully, "okay we're even."

"Hey," Kira said shyly, "you look good without your glasses."

"Oh yeah, very sexy, huh?" he said playfully.

Kira giggled and shoved him gently. Through his wet shirt she could feel his toned muscles. She hadn't known he did sports. She blushed at her observation.

"Er-- we better get out of here, we need a chance to dry off!" said Kira.

"Yeah, you're right."

They slowly made their way to the bank, and climbed out onto the grass. Kira then realized how wet and see-through her beige camisole had become. She blushed, and Harry noticed and chuckled.

"I guess we better get you something to change into? Not that I don't _like _what I see, but--"

"Oh, shut up," Kira said, while trying to hide her giggles.

They found a small shop on the corner and quickly found some inexpensive clothes to wear. As the two left the small shop, Harry glanced at his watch.

"Whoa, it's getting kind of late, how about we grab some… say, pizza?" he asked.

Kira laughed, "of course! Pizza's always good."

At a small deli they each ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza and a drink, and headed back to Privet Drive. When they reached Kira's home, the pair stopped.

Harry spoke first. "I had a really fun time today, ha, with our little swim and all."

Kira giggled. "Yeah, me too."

"So I'll call you later then?"

"Sure!"

Kira looked up at Harry. He had a funny look in his emerald eyes.

'_I didn't know he had green eyes. Wow, I guess I've never been close enough to see them this close either,_' Kira thought to herself.

Slowly Harry lifted his hand to her face and brushed a wet, stringy strand of honey blonde hair out of her eyes. He bent down just enough, and tenderly his lips met Kira's.

Kira's mind had been screaming to turn away or _something_, but the moment they kissed, everything else disappeared. His kiss wasn't demanding, awkward, or strange. It was just… gentle.

Harry pulled away slowly and opened his emerald green eyes to see bright purple ones smiling back at him. Harry grinned and stood back up to his full height.

"Well, until later then," he said, still grinning.

"Perfect," said Kira with a smile on her face.

Slowly she turned towards her house and walked inside. As she closed the door behind her softly, Kira quickly ran to the window. Still outside her house, Harry stood, as if he was thinking, remembering. He still had his award-winning grin on his face, and slowly he turned away from Kira's house, and walked down the street towards his own.

A/N: Whew! Finally chapter 4 is done! You have no idea how much trouble I had writing this stupid chapter! Okay now PLEASE review!!!


	5. Birthday Plans

A/N: Geez, I had like the WORST case of writer's block! I had like two paragraphs for ever and last tonight WHOOSH it all came out! TADAA! Thanks to every one who reviewed! You're awesome! Ok here you go: Chapter 5!

New Neighbor

Chapter 5

"Kira, there's a letter for you!" Kira's mother called from downstairs, after walking in the front door with the morning mail.

Kira set her book down on her nightstand and strolled down the steps to the kitchen. She picked up the faded yellow envelope off the counter and neatly opened it. After unfolding the heavy yellowish parchment, she read:

My dearest Kira,

Well how has life gone for you since our visit, sweetie? We know your birthday is coming up next week, and we wondered if you would like to come visit us! We could have an absolutely wonderful party! Of course you need to ask your parents first, dear. Please inform them that we will be able to pick you up in two days, and you'll be able to stay with us through the 10th of August, so we can get your supplies you need for school. We would love to have you! If it's alright with your parents, please owl us back. We love you, dear!

Much Love,

Aunt Ramona

"Hey Mum, look at this," Kira called.

Mrs. Sanden took the letter from her daughter and read it to herself. When she had finished Kira pleaded, "Oh, Mum, can I go?!"

Mrs. Sanden looked thoughtful.

"Well dear, we haven't planned any birthday get-together with Grandpa and Grandma yet, so there's not really any reason why you shouldn't be allowed to go," she concluded with a smile on her face.

"Oh thank you, Mum!" Kira exclaimed before giving her mother a quick hug. However, suddenly her expression turned into a confused frown.

"But what does she mean, Mum, to 'owl' her if I can visit?"

Mrs. Sanden was just about to shrug when there came a small tap from the window. The pair whirled around to see a small barn owl rapping on the kitchen window.

"What the--" Kira started but her mother interrupted her.

"Look, dear! It has a letter strapped to it's leg!" she cried, "let her in, Kira!"

Kira rushed to the window and a few seconds later the barn owl flew in and noisily landed on the kitchen counter.

"Oh, animal!" Mrs. Sanden shrieked, "off the counter! Off! OFF!!"

Kira watched the owl cast Mrs. Sanden an annoyed look-- wait a second, an **_owl_** casting a look? The owl quickly took flight and landed once again, this time on the back of a chair. It stuck out its leg and began to hoot at Kira. She slowly untied the piece of rolled up parchment from the animal's leg. When she had completed the task, the owl seemed to stare at her expectantly, as if she were waiting for something.

The letter in hand, Kira gazed at her mother. She appeared utterly confused and was mumbling something along the lines of, "…owls in midday… absurd… imagine if the animal messed on my countertops… absurd…"

Kira apprehensively opened the parchment, while wondering why on earth would an **_owl_**, of all creatures, be bringing her a letter. Inside she found a small note:

Kira,

You must be wondering what I meant by saying to 'owl' me if you could visit. Well, simply write the answer to my invitation on a piece of paper, and tie the note to Opa's leg. She'll be sure to bring me the letter. J

- Aunt Ramona

"Opa?" Kira asked no one. The owl hooted in pleasure at the sound of its name.

"Oh you're Opa, are you?" Kira said, understanding. The barn owl hooted at her once more.

"Here Mum, read this. It explains why the owl's here," Kira said, as she handed the letter to her mother. She grabbed a spare piece of paper out of a drawer and quickly wrote to Aunt Ramona that she would be ready to visit in two days. She took the small piece of string that was still hanging from Opa's leg and nervously tied the note to the owl's leg. She was half expecting the owl to bite her, but thankfully Opa didn't. When the note was securely tied to her leg, Opa swiftly took flight and was out the opened window within seconds.

Kira turned to her mother, who looked a bit ruffled.

"Well! This letter explains the owl business alright, but I would hope no more owls come swooping through my house in the middle of the day!" she exclaimed before leaving the room.

Kira giggled to herself when her mother was out of earshot. Yes, having an owl plunge through their kitchen window at 10:00 in the morning was a bit odd, but cool nonetheless.

'_Maybe this is how **all **mail is delivered to wizards and witches. Awesome._'

Kira walked up the stairs towards her bedroom and thought to herself, '_A two week long visit with Aunt Ramona and Uncle Griffin. Oh, I can't wait! I'll have to tell Harry!_'

Kira hadn't seen Harry in a few weeks, though they had exchanged a few telephone calls. In fact, she hadn't seen him since their date in which she, er, went for a little swim in the pond. She hadn't brought up the kiss, and neither had he. In a way she wanted to talk about it with Harry, but she also didn't want to seem too forward. She supposed he would bring it up when he was ready.

Kira entered her room and flopped down on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling and smiled at the memory of Harry's lips upon hers. Her first kiss. It was as wonderful as she had imagined, but better.

She rolled over on her stomach and brought her thoughts back down to earth.

'_Gah, if Harry knew I was thinking this much about some kiss, he'd think I was crazy_!'

She decided to go tell Harry in person. After all, she hadn't seen him in a while and she knew he'd be home. He had told her on the phone the night before. Something about his cousin's birthday. Plus, she was in need of a nice walk.

Kira slipped on her tennis shoes and pulled her long locks up into a ponytail. She happily hummed to herself as she jogged down the stairs. After telling her mother where she was going, she left through the front door.

XXXXXXXXXX

DING DONG!

Kira stood in front of #9 Privet Drive anxiously. She had never actually been to Harry's house before. She nervously looked down at herself and smoothed her shirt of any wrinkles. She heard a noise and abruptly stared at the door. As the door swung open Kira opened her mouth to say, "Hi, Harry!" but her cheerful expression rapidly faded.

Kira recognized the man at the door to be the angry fat guy she and Harry had run from the day they met. What did Harry say his name was? Buddy? Dudley? Yeah, that was it. Dudley. What a horrid name.

Kira opened her mouth for a second time to ask for Harry, but noticed Dudley staring at her eyes. His gaze didn't linger there long, however, for his gawking traveled south. Kira cringed under his stare and mentally cursed herself for wearing a shirt that was so low cut in the front.

"Whoa! What do we have here?" Dudley's beady eyes continued to look her up and down, "my, what a nice birthday present," he said in a voice that could've been mistaken as seductive, though Kira found his voice rather high-pitched for such a huge guy. He persisted to watch her hungrily but Kira regained her composure.

"Is Harry here?"

Dudley's thirsty stare quickly turned to one of confusion.

"Err, Harry?! You're looking for Harry?!" Dudley stuttered incredulously.

"Uh, yes, wasn't that was I just said?" Kira asked sarcastically.

Dudley pulled himself together and raised his eyebrows at her.

"Why, babe? When you could have a much better time with say, me?" Dudley said in that same high seductive-but-not-really voice.

"Please," Kira said cautiously, losing a bit of her courage over his refusal to go get Harry, "I need to talk to Harry."

"Aw, c'mon girl," Dudley smirked, reaching a fat hand out towards her slim waist.

"Dudley!" a familiar voice bellowed from behind the obese teen.

Harry's face appeared above Dudley's enormous shoulder and Kira's facial features visibly relaxed.

"Don't you **_dare_ **touch her," Harry said venomously, "or you know what I can do."

Dudley's face immediately appeared frightened. He retracted his hand and glared at Harry before turning and waddling back into the house. He muttered, "…damn stick of his…" right before he disappeared from view up the stairs.

Harry looked at Kira uncomfortably. "Sorry about Dudley… I swear, if that load of crap ever comes near you again--"

"Harry!" Kira exclaimed, "really, it's fine. He didn't do anything too bad."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Kira chuckled at him. "Yes, I'm sure!"

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his unruly hair. He smiled a crooked grin at Kira and asked, "so what brings you down here today?"

Kira blushed a bit.

"Well, I haven't seen you in a while, just wanted to say hi," she said shyly.

"Well you have no idea how thankful I am that you did. I can only take so much of Dudley's 'birthday' day. Want to go for a quick walk?"

"Yeah!" Kira exclaimed merrily.

Harry grinned.

"Okay well hold on a second, ok?" he asked.

Kira nodded and Harry ran back inside. She heard him yell to someone that he was leaving for a bit and he came back outside with proper walking shoes on and a ready smile.

"Okay, whew! I'm ready."

Kira laughed as they made their way off the doorstep and began walking down Privet Drive.

The walked in silence for a few moments before Kira said, "guess what!"

Harry chuckled, "what?"

"You know my aunt and uncle? The ones who visited last month? Well, they've invited me to visit them for my birthday!" Kira cried excitedly.

"Cool, wait a sec, you never told me when your birthday was," Harry commented, eyebrows raised.

Kira smirked, "well you never asked, did you?"

Harry sighed playfully, "I suppose I didn't."

"Oh but I can't wait to go! I did tell you my aunt and uncle are absolutely fabulous, didn't I? They're so…" Kira thought a second to find the right word, "eccentric! But in a good way."

"Wish I had relatives like that," Harry said almost pessimistically.

Kira didn't comment, and the pair didn't speak for a few minutes. They reached the neighborhood park and turned back around towards their homes. Harry seemed to be thinking about something, and Kira didn't want to interrupt him.

"Kira, listen," Harry started finally, "I've been thinking a little about… us."

Kira shifted nervously. Harry took breath and continued.

"And you know that we've been having loads of fun, and I really think you're totally amazing… I just don't think… it should go too far," he said a bit uncomfortably.

"What do you mean?" Kira asked awkwardly.

"I mean like… when, I uh… kissed you… last time we went out…" he said, plainly uncomfortable now.

Kira avoided his gaze.

"Not that I didn't like it or anything… I just think we shouldn't get too-- involved. I mean, after all, summer is half over now, and uh, we won't even be able to see each other once summer ends," he paused, "er, do you get what I'm saying Kira?"

Kira reluctantly looked up and met his gaze. She quickly faked a smile and said, "yeah! I totally get it. Don't want to get too um, complicated-- when we won't even see each other later on, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Harry said, searching her purple eyes. Kira tore her eyes away from his entrancing emerald ones. She looked around and realized they were standing in front of her house.

"Well, um, we're here!" she said, disguising her voice to sound cheerful.

Harry nodded and took in a deep breath.

"So when do you leave for your aunt and uncles house?" he asked.

"Two days."

"Oh, okay, then I probably won't see you before then, huh?"

"Uh, no… But I come back on the 10th of August, so I'll see you then?"

"Yeah! We can hang out at that time, okay?"

"Um, yeah," Kira said, still managing to keep the smile pasted to her face.

Harry seemed to search her eyes one more time then looked as if he were about to say something. He didn't, so Kira whispered a goodbye and walked up the steps to her house without a backwards glance. She stepped inside just in time to wipe away a tear that was threatening to tumble down her cheek.

A/N: Ok whew, its over… Yeah, yeah, I know I switched Dudley and Harry's birthdays around maybe but oh well… Okay review! Please!


	6. Meeting Maverick

Disclaimer: Thought I'd put another one of these up… NOTHING HARRY-POTTER RELATED BELONGS TO ME!!!! It belongs to the brilliant mind of J. K. Rowling of course!!!

A/N: I'll be gone for another week after this, sorry, probably won't be any updates for a while… Ok I use a few spells that aren't from the books in here… sorry if there's a real one in the books already… Oh and the quote is from the wonderful Eleanor Roosevelt.

Enjoy!

New Neighbor

Chapter 6

There. He'd done it. Harry let out a sigh as he walked down Privet Drive. Kira hadn't taken it too badly, had she?

'_Stop kidding yourself, Harry. You saw the look in her eyes._'

Harry had thought a lot about Kira during the past weeks. He really did like her, but… if she knew what his world was like…

'_Well, first of all, she'd totally flip out at the thought of a wizard. And even if she did understand Hogwarts and all that came with it, she wouldn't get the life I live in,_' Harry thought angrily.

His world. The adoration and idolization he received. Yeah, he fulfilled the prophecy. He had defeated Voldemort. But no one understood what it was like to live as he did. With everyone holding the name 'Harry Potter' in such high regard. Everyone expecting him to live as a hero. Well, one person understood…

'_Yeah, Sirius understood. Sirius understood everything._'

XXXXXXXXXX

Kira took one last look at her closet before concluding that all that needed to be packed was now jammed into her suitcase. Uncle Griffin was coming to pick her up in an hour, but Kira wasn't near as excited as she should be. A certain raven-haired boy kept plaguing her thoughts.

'_He doesn't want you Kira, don't you get it!_'

Kira's big purple eyes threatened to well up with tears again, but Kira scolded herself and refused to let the tears come.

'_It's fine, Kira! You'll be fine. With this trip to Aunt Ramona and Uncle Griffin's house, you'll totally forget about him. Stop blubbering!_'

She exhaled deeply and attempted to pull the extremely heavy suitcase across the floor. The first few tries failed, but soon the suitcase was reluctantly bouncing down the stairs, Kira pulling it with all her strength. The heavy baggage finally landed with a soft bump on the ground floor, in the entry hall. Not wanting to pull it any farther, Kira left it where it was and walked into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat before she left.

"Dear, do you know exactly how your aunt and uncle plan to pick you up this morning?" her father asked when Kira appeared in the doorway.

"Um, they didn't exactly specify, but I think they would be using their car…?" answered Kira.

Her father nodded and resumed devouring his toast which was covered in an strange-looking purple goop.

"Oh Kira!" Mrs. Sanden exclaimed happily from where she stood in front of the toaster, "would you like some toast, dear? I've made some wonderful plum jelly, I think you'd love it!"

"Oh," said Kira, now with an explanation to what the purple goop was that was dissolving into her father's toast, "um, I think I'll just have butter on mine this morning. Thanks though, Mum."

Kira's mother nodded, but looked a bit crestfallen as she turned back to the toaster. Kira cast a glance at the purple goop once more before saying, "er, never mind, Mum. I think I shall try that jelly. It does look quite good, after all."

Mrs. Sanden visibly perked up.

"Oh fabulous, dear!" she said gleefully, as she loaded a sticky pile of her homemade jelly onto Kira's toast.

Kira sighed and sat down at the kitchen table next to her father. A few moments later her mother placed the toast in front of her. Kira eyed it suspiciously. The toast was absorbing the jelly, making it appear a purple-gray color. But before Kira could take a bite, she heard a loud **BOOM **in the living room.

Kira, Mr. Sanden, and Mrs. Sanden all shouted in alarm at the same time. They rushed into the living room immediately. There by the fireplace stood Uncle Griffin, covered in dust and what looked like… soot?

"Good heavens, Griffin!" Mrs. Sanden cried, "where in the world did you come from and what in blazes are you doing?!"

Griffin glanced up at the trio and smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry Vera, am I early? Darn, I thought I'd make perfect timing traveling by Floo." He looked at his watch and tapped it a few times.

"Floo?" Kira asked him quizzically.

"Yes, Floo. Used for wizard transportation. I had the Ministry add your residence to the directory for a few hours so I could come pick you up. I thought it'd be-- cultural, for you to travel the wizard way."

"Oh," Kira said uncertainly, but excited nonetheless, "well then how does it work?" she asked, staring at the fireplace skeptically.

"Well, if you have your things packed, sweetie, I could show you right now."

Kira nodded but her father cut in before she could say anything else.

"Griffin," he began apprehensively, "you're **_sure_** it's safe… **_Absolutely_** sure…"

Griffin smiled at his old friend reassuringly, "as safe as safe can get, I assure you."

Mrs. Sanden still looked extremely suspicious of all the soot that was covering Uncle Griffin, but she managed to murmur, "Kira's baggage is in the entryway."

"Oh, alright," Griffin pulled out a long slender mahogany stick from the pocket of his horrid green leather jacket. He pointed it towards the entryway and said, "_Accio_ suitcase!"

Kira was just to open her mouth to ask what the heck he was talking about, but stopped immediately in shock. Her suitcase was FLOATING into the living room. FLOATING. Kira rubbed her eyes and wondered if she hallucinating. She looked again. It was FLOATING towards them! Her and her parents meant to duck behind the couch, but the suitcase softly landed with a small thud on the living room rug. The Sanden family gaped at Griffin with open mouths.

Griffin chuckled at their humorous expressions. He gestured towards the stick he was holding, "Oh yes, and this is my wand."

Silence. The Sanden's appeared to be processing what the man had just said. Kira spoke first.

"Like… a magic wand? As in… Cinderella-magic-wand?"

"Umm, I suppose along those lines, yes. It's standard for every witch and wizard to have one. In fact, you'll be getting one on the 10th of August," Uncle Griffin said with a twinkle in his eye. Mrs. Sanden made a small choking noise but Uncle Griffin immediately gave her a short lecture on the safety precautions that exist for all under-age wizards and witches. When he was done, he turned to Kira.

"Well Kira, ready to go?" he asked with a smile.

"Um," Kira glanced at her parents. Her mother appeared a bit white but her father nodded towards her encouragingly.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's Floo."

Griffin laughed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a round silver can. He popped the lid off and held it out towards Kira.

"Okay dear, this is what you're going to do. You'll take a handful of the Floo powder," Kira tilted her head to see inside the silver can. It was filled with glittering green powder. Griffin continued, "and toss a bit into the fireplace. Then you'll step into the fireplace, and shout '985 Honey House Lane' **_very clearly_**, do you understand?"

Kira nodded uneasily at her uncle, her brow furrowed.

"Alright then, grab a bit of this," he gestured to the small green can. Kira grabbed a small handful. It felt slippery in her hand.

"Now toss it into the fireplace," coached Uncle Griffin. Kira did so and immediately jumped back in surprise. The fireplace had immediately lit itself! It was now a large crackling fire, but was **green** in color.

"Uncle Griffin, um, its… green."

"Oh yes, dear, quite alright. Now, when you step into the flames, be sure to say, '985 Honey House Lane' **_very_** clearly."

Kira gulped. She turned to her mother and father, both of whom had horrified looks on their faces. She walked towards them and gave each a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"I'll miss you two," Kira told her parents, trying to sound unbothered by the tall green flames she was supposed to walk into without a second thought.

Mr. Sanden tore his gaze away from the fireplace and cleared his throat.

"We'll miss you too, dear, see you in a few weeks." Her mother nodded, as if in agreement with her father.

Kira stepped in front of the fireplace, attempting to get up her nerve to walk into it.

"Oh, one more thing," Griffin said, "be sure to step out of the fireplace when you arrive, because I'll be coming through directly after you with the baggage."

Kira nodded. She took in a deep breath and gathering up all her strength, walked straight into the fireplace. But the burning sensation she expected never came. The flames that licked her legs were quite cool. She turned around in the fireplace to face her parents and Uncle Griffin.

"Go on," she heard Griffin urge, though he seemed far away.

Kira took a breath, something she immediately regretted because ashes went up her nose, but nonetheless she was able to shout, "985 HONEY HOUSE LANE!!!"

The fireplace started to spin, she felt herself getting nauseated. Everything around her was spinning too fast for her to make anything out. It was hard to breath, because every time she did, ashes and dust filled her nose. Just when she thought she might throw up, the spinning stopped. She immediately fell forward, and landed on the hardwood floor of a strange living room.

"This isn't the right house," Kira said aloud, starting to panic. She almost screamed when someone came bustling into the room but stopped herself when she realized it was her Aunt Ramona.

"Oh good, sweetie, you made it. Hurry, dear, out of the fireplace. Griffin will be arriving momentarily."

Kira crawled out of the fireplace, covered in soot. She heard an **_OOF _**and turned to see Uncle Griffin crawling out of the fireplace as well, covered in more soot than before. He was dragging her heavy suitcase behind him.

As they started the task of dusting off their clothes, a smiling Aunt Ramona asked, "so how was your first Floo trip, Kira?"

"Erm, it was good I suppose," Kira answered. Having finished dusting off her clothes, she glanced around.

"Auntie, did you guys move recently or something?" Kira asked.

"No dear," her aunt replied as she helped her husband wipe the soot off his face.

"But," said Kira, confused, "this isn't the house I visited last time I came on a vacation with you."

"Oh yes Kira, but see, now that you know we're witches and such, we can show you our real home."

"Huh?"

Uncle Griffin answered her, "well we couldn't exactly bring your parents, who are muggles, into a wizarding home. They would find it… strange. So we simply used a _tutis inflecto _charm to make our residence appear muggle-ish. But this," he gestured around the house, "is our real home. Wizard and all."

Kira looked around in awe… There was a duster on the mantel, that was dusting by itself. A large grandfather clock in the corner with five hands appeared to be muttering about the weather, and the grand piano was playing Beethoven's sonata, Clair de Lune, flawlessly, only no one was sitting on the piano bench!

"Amazing…" she murmured as Aunt Ramona and Uncle Griffin led her into the kitchen and dining area. Aside from the dishes which were washing themselves and a muffled voice that could be heard from upstairs that sounded oddly like, "save the kneazles," the house appeared well kept and very stately.

"Dear, we're going to go start dinner. Feel free to look around the house. I'm sure you'll find some exciting things here," Ramona told her with a twinkle in her eye, "also, remember to pick a bedroom. There's plenty open upstairs."

"Okay," Kira said, excited to explore. She grabbed the handle to her suitcase and gave it a yank. Griffin stopped her before she pulled it farther.

"Kira, there's no need for that." He took out his wand and said, "_agito_." The suitcase disappeared with a _POP_.

"Wh-where did it go?" Kira asked, bewildered.

"Oh, I put it upstairs, so you won't have to lug it up the steps."

"Uh, thanks…" Kira replied. She left the kitchen to find the stairs. Soon she found it, near the front door. Actually, she found three sets of stairs.

"Um, Aunt Ramona?" She yelled.

Ramona came into the front hall saying, "yes, dear?"

Kira pointed to the stairs.

"Which one do I take?" she asked.

"Well, it depends which floor you would like to go to. The second floor, third, or fourth. I can't tell you which stairs go up to which floor, though. They tend to switch around. I say, just try one, and once you reach that landing, there will be other stairs to the other floors if you don't want to be on the floor you're presently on. Does that make sense, sweetie?"

"I suppose," Kira replied uncertainly, before charging up the first set of steps. Soon she came up onto that floor, where a large painting was directly across the hall. The painting was of a gigantic sneaker.

'_How odd,_' Kira thought, leaning forward to examine the painting. Suddenly the sole of the shoe opened up, revealing some sort of mouth.

"'Ello lass, 'elcome to the third floor, you are."

Kira's jaw went slack. This was a _painting_ for goodness sakes!

"Ever seen a talkin' paintin'? I think not, the way ye be lookin' at me."

"Uhh," Kira muttered intelligently.

"Well, when ya get yo voice back, lass, come talk with me anytime, ye hear? Me name's Maverick. Ye can call me Mav if ye like."

"Are the b-bedrooms up here?" Kira asked Mav, still not used to the idea of talking to a moving painting, "My aunt said I need to p-pick one…"

"Ye should stop mutterin' ye should. Anyhow, aye, lots o'nice bedrooms up here. Best floor with bedrooms, I should say. I'd avoid that last one on the left though, I would." Mav motioned down the hall, "got itself a ghoul, it has. Shouts up somethin' nasty if anyone messes with 'im. This your bag, by the way, lass?" the sneaker asked, looking down at Kira's suitcase.

Kira nodded and began shakily walking down the hall, planning to bring the suitcase to her bedroom after she'd chosen the one she wanted. She reached towards a doorknob that was turquoise in color.

Mav yelled down to her, "Lass! I wouldn't pick that one if I were ye, it has one nasty bathroom, I must say. Some sort o' problem with the toilet, it has. I wouldn't try and flush it."

Kira dropped her hand and walked back down the hall to the talking sneaker.

"Anything else I should know about these bedrooms before I pick one, Mav?"

"Wonderful, ye've stopped stutterin' lass." the sneaker said, "well for such a gorgeous girl like ye self, I wouldn't 'ecommend that one there with the with the blue door. Got a bed that shouts at ye when ye snore. I doubt ye snore, lass, but just to be safe, eh?"

Kira nodded and an idea popped into her head. Mav the sneaker seemed nice enough anyway.

"Which room do you think I should choose, Mav?"

If sneaker's could smile, Mav just did.

"Ye be trustin' me now! That's fabulous, that is! And I got the perfect room for such a lass as ye. See that one with the small inscription on it?" Kira nodded and Mav continued, "then that's the one ye'd be likin' I say."

Kira smiled at the sneaker and walked down the hall. She lifted her hand to the yellow doorknob while reading the inscription on the door. It read:

__

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams

Kira smiled and entered the room. She shut the door behind her before glancing around. When she did look around herself, she gasped.

The room was absolutely breathtaking. It was painted a deep crimson, with white trim. There were assorted paintings decorating the walls, all which were beautiful. To Kira's left there was a huge canopy bed, with a white feather comforter and pillows in assorted colors. There stood two mahogany nightstands on each side of the bed, each with its own exquisite lamp.

On the opposite wall, to Kira's right, stood a mahogany vanity and matching dresser. She approached the vanity, only to have the mirror say, "my we have a pretty one here, now don't we?" Normally such a thing would have frightened Kira, but seeing how she had just met a giant talking sneaker, the mirror didn't bother her quite as much. Next to the dresser was a door that obviously led to her very own bathroom.

But directly across from Kira was what pleased her the most. Next to a small sitting area that consisted of a reclining chair, a loveseat, and a small coffee table, there was a pair of French glass doors. Through the glass Kira could see a tiny balcony, all her own. She went through the doors and looked down. The fact that she was so far up made her a bit nauseous, but she quickly moved her gaze elsewhere. Her aunt and uncle's home was absolutely fantastic. It was surrounded by fields on one side, and lush fruit trees on the other.

Kira let out a deep sigh.

'_Oh, if only Harry could be here to see this with me--_' Kira halted her thoughts and quickly shoved her green-eyed neighbor out of her mind.

She walked back into her room and jumped onto her bed. The soft blankets seemed to melt around her. She laid her head back onto the pillows and thought, '_this vacation will be absolutely magnificent,_' before she fell asleep.

A/N: Holy cow almost 3000 words! You guys better love me for this freakin long chapter!

Oh and bubble gum and lollipops go out to my FABULOUSLY SUPERB editor, **_Digladior0124_**!!! Without her, there would be a whole lot more grammar and spelling mistakes, I tell you!

Again, I'm gonna be gone for the next week though I MIGHT be able to update. If I can't, see you guys in a week!

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!


	7. Trevor's Escapade

A/N: ok I'm back from vacation, and boy it was FUN! Lol, I actually didn't even work on the story at all, I was really busy! This chappy isn't quite as long as the last one, but you'll live.

Oh and some of my recent reviews have been used as other than ahem 'reviewing' purposes, so please people, let's keep reviews for reviews only? Lol…

DISCLAIMER: EVERYTHING IN THIS STORY BELONGS TO J.K.ROWLING EXCEPT THE STUFF YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. BUA HA HA HA HAA!!!

New Neighbor

Chapter 7

A half hour after she had fallen asleep in her wonderful, but temporary room, Kira awoke to the sound of Aunt Ramona's voice.

"Kira? Kira! Hello?"

Kira sat up among the bountiful quantity of pillows that threatened to overflow around her. A quick glance around told her she was alone in the room.

'_Huh? Then where is the voice coming from?!_'

"Hellooooo? Come now, Kira. Mav told me that you were in there… …Kira!! Answer me dear!"

Kira swung over the mattress and checked under her bed. Nothing.

"Aunt Ramona?" she called out to her empty room, feeling quite stupid.

"Ah! Finally sweetie, I was getting a bit worried. Supper's ready dear!"

"Uhh," Kira said intelligently to the nothingness surrounding her, "Auntie?"

"Yes, dear?"

Kira hopped off her bed and cautiously walked around the bedroom, searching.

"Where are you?"

Aunt Ramona's chuckles came from nowhere, "Oh! Sorry Kira, didn't tell you did I? Do you see a clock on your vanity dear?"

Kira spotted it next to a blue hairbrush that looked like it had… teeth? She decided to ask her aunt later and picked up the small clock. Unlike the grandfather clock she had spotted downstairs upon her arrival, this clock had only two hands and appeared as normal as the clocks Kira owned at her own house.

"Uhh, yes, I found it."

"Turn it around."

'_Did Aunt Ramona's voice just come from the clock?_'

On the other side of the clock was a small speaker sort of thing. So _that _was how she was talking to her. But there wasn't any cord from the clock to the wall

'_Is it like a walkie-talkie or something? …Oh, magic!_'

Kira spoke into the clock-speaker, not feeling quite as stupid, "um, I figured it out Auntie. I'll be right down for supper."

Aunt Ramona laughed, "okay dear."

Kira walked quickly into the 3rd floor hallway and strolled past Maverick's painting as she made her way towards the stairs.

"So ye enjoyin' yer room, are ye lass?" the sneaker asked as she walked by. Kira stopped to face him and smiled.

"Oh yes, Mav, I love it! Thank you very much!"

Mav smiled his odd sneaker-grin.

"Knew ye'd like it, lass. Lovely, it is."

She nodded and told him she was going down to dinner. He bid her farewell and she strode downstairs. Thankfully, the stairwell didn't switch on her this time and she found herself in the front entryway of the house. She immediately caught a whiff of dinner's tantalizing aroma.

"Is that you, Kira?" she heard Uncle Griffin call from the next room.

"Yeah," Kira answered, getting her first sight of the large, well-lit dining room. The table was set beautifully and a large pot roast was sitting in the middle of the table. She slid into the seat next to Uncle Griffin.

"So you found a room alright, Kira?" her uncle asked as he served Kira a large slice of steaming pot roast.

"Oh yes," Kira replied, staring around at the delicious food set before her. "The sneaker was a big help though."

"Mav?" her Aunt asked, "so you've met him. I very much enjoy having him around. Very kindly soul, don't you think?"

Kira nodded and her aunt continued, "and the fact that a painting can talk didn't shock you too much, did it sweetie?"

"Oh, it gave me quite a scare, Auntie. Lots of things in this house have. And what's with the ferocious hairbrush on my vanity?"

"Been there for ages, Kira," her uncle answered, "don't try to move it. Last person who tried that has only nine fingers left now."

Kira's eyes widened in surprise but she didn't say anything. As the trio started eating their food, her aunt and uncle made small talk about subjects Kira had never heard of before. She listened intently as not to miss a thing. She wanted to learn as much as she possibly could about this world she was coming into. They chatted about cauldrons and the Ministry of Magic and the latest robe fashion… Every once in a while they would stop and explain something to Kira so she could understand what they were talking about. By the end of dinner, an hour later, Kira's mind was bubbling with anticipation to know more.

"But what is the Department of Muggle Studies going to _do_ for the muggles who found the unicorns??" she asked excitedly.

Aunt Ramona chuckled.

"Sweetie, it's getting late. I think you should save the rest of your questions for tomorrow, after you've had a full nights sleep."

Kira sighed and nodded, but shoved the rest of her questions to the back of her mind for later. She stood up from the table and reached for her plate, meaning to take it into the kitchen.

"No Kira, there's no need for that," her aunt exclaimed and pulled her wand out of her right-hand pocket.

"_Scourgify!_" she cried and with a small pop every dish on the table was sparkling clean and stacked neatly, ready to be put into the kitchen cupboards.

"Wow! That's wicked cool!" Kira said.

Uncle Griffin and Aunt Ramona both started laughing as they began carrying the stacks of dishes into the kitchen. Kira helped and soon the kitchen and dining room were neat and tidy. She checked the clock and saw it was almost 9:00pm.

She bid her aunt and uncle good night and headed towards the stairs. Yawning, she walked up the first set of steps. When she appeared at the landing, she glanced across the hall and saw that in fact this was not the right floor.

The painting across from the steps was not Mav. It was a painting of an extremely old lady, dressed entirely in black, save for the massive diamond jewelry that adorned her ears, neck, and fingers. The lady's hair was gray, almost silver, and was pulled back into a tight bun. Her lips were pursed exceedingly tight, giving Kira the idea that she was sucking on a lemon. Small, thin eye-glasses were perched at the very end of her aristocratic nose which the old lady gazed down through to give Kira the most unwelcoming stare.

Kira gulped. She was about to ask the old woman how she could make it to the 3rd floor, when the lady spoke.

"What do we have here?" she asked in a shrill voice, "a new visitor?"

"Erm, yes. Uh, I was hoping--"

"Speak clearly, child!" the old woman almost screamed.

"Could you please direct me to the stairs leading to the 3rd floor?" Kira asked quickly, but the old woman was mumbling to herself.

"…yes, I see… …dark blood… whole lot of them… …mudbloods… …Griffin's insane, surely… …I'll be damned… …whole lot of them…"

Kira furrowed her brow. She strained her ear to hear the lady more clearly.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Kira began timidly, "what are you talking about?"

"Heavens, child!" the painting shrieked, "listening to an old woman's conversation! Goodness me, I'd take a paddle to you! And you shall address me as Madame Rosaline Fairwand, which is my God-given name!"

"Yes, Madame Rosaline Fairwand…" Kira murmured, inwardly annoyed but unwilling to show the woman anything but respect, "where are the stairs to the 3rd floor?"

"Ah! No manners!" screeched Madame Fairwand, "over to your right, child! Now OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!"

Kira hurriedly went to her right, where down the hall she found a stairwell leading downwards. She could still hear Madame Fairwand yelling something about black blood and her aunt and uncle's insanity as she descended the stairs.

'_What on earth is she screaming about?_' Kira wondered, '_what a nutcase._'

Soon she found herself face to face-- well, face to sneaker with Mav.

"Met ole Rosaline, have ye lass?" he asked, chuckling.

Kira sighed exasperatedly, "yeah, what's her problem?"

"Oh, lots o'things, lass. Not sure ye'd wanna know."

Kira laughed and said, "I suppose not, Mav. Good night."

"G'night lass," the sneaker called after her as she entered her room.

Trying to ignore her rising inquiries about Madame Fairwand's ramblings, Kira leapt into her huge bed, causing a few pillows to bounce into the air and onto the floor. She snuggled down into the soft bedding and quickly feel asleep, happily dreaming about unicorns, a biting hairbrush, and self-cleaning dishes.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next few days were absolutely terrific for Kira. She learned more and more about wizarding life. During the day her aunt and uncle would take her out to explore. Kira helped to de-gnome the huge garden that was located beside the four-story house, and catch a family of Kneazles, an obnoxious but cute little creature that Aunt Ramona insisted were destroying her flower beds.

In the evenings, Uncle Griffin and Kira would have wizard chess tournaments while they enjoyed dessert made by Aunt Ramona. Then they would talk late into the night about anything and everything. Wizard banking, wizard fashion, wizard-world creatures, and sometimes wizard school. Namely, Hogwarts. Kira learned a little about Dumbledore, and how the school was formed.

Walking through the orchards one morning, she realized that, finally, after feeling like she was always looking for something, she felt whole. The missing puzzle piece of her life had been found. Learning about how to coil up the springs of a five-handed clock and quiet down a gargling Pixie outside of the greenhouse completed her. This new world completed her.

Kira saw a squirrel scurry past her feet. Then, interrupting her daydreaming, and odd screeching noise cut through the silence of the forest like an axe.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…"

The squealing was getting louder. Kira looked up, alarmed. Suddenly a falling young man appeared in the walnut tree above her. Kira, startled out of her reverie, realized that if she didn't move he was going to fall on top off her. She jumped nimbly out of the way a split second before the flailing boy landed with impressive force on the ground.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-- **OOF!!!**"

The flailing boy landed with impressive force on the grass and didn't move.

"Oh my gosh!!!" Kira screamed as she knelt down beside the young man.

A groan came from the boy and Kira relaxed a bit.

'_Thank goodness! He's not dead!_'

"Are you alright?!" she exclaimed, trying to pull the young man's head off the ground in which it was now imbedded.

He lifted his head a bit and when he saw Kira his eyes widened and he quickly made an attempt to push himself up to a sitting position. Kira grabbed his arm and helped him a bit and soon he was sitting on the ground before her.

As he tried to dust himself off with his right hand (since his left appeared to be grasping something tightly), Kira took in his appearance. He was a teeny bit chubby, with pleasant brown hair and brown eyes. He wore wrinkled, mud spotted robe, his hair tangled with leaves and twigs. His arms had small scratches and dirt streaks, and his shoes looked a bit worn as well.

"What on earth were you doing in the tree!" she inquired worriedly, "and are you okay??"

"Uh," the boy spoke for the first time, "I was trying to catch my--" His eyes widened.

"Trevor! Where's Trevor!" he exclaimed anxiously, then his expression visibly relaxed as if he had just remembered something.

Kira was confused.

"Who's Trevor?" she asked.

The boy brought both his hands together and released whatever he had been clenching in his left hand. There sat a large wart-covered toad, making soft burping noises.

"This is Trevor," he indicated towards the toad proudly, "and I'm Neville Longbottom."

"Hello, I'm Kira, and for the third time, are you alright?"

Neville looked a bit sheepish, "I'm fine, used to it in fact."

"Um…?"

"I mean, er, I tend to be a bit clumsy. Drives my Gran mad, in fact."

Kira giggled.

"Here, let me help you up," she said, reaching for his hand. He grasped it and soon he was standing. He reached behind him to brush the dirt off his hind end.

Kira laughed and asked, "what were you doing in my Aunt and Uncle's orchards anyway?"

"Your aunt and uncle? Didn't know Ramona and Griffin had a niece," said Neville, surprised.

"Oh, well, I suppose they're not my _real_ aunt and uncle, but they're close. Old family friends, you could say," Kira said, "I'm here for a visit."

"Oh," Neville said, comprehension evident in his face, "well I live just down the road from here… I often take walks in the orchard, I mean, it's a pretty nice place don't you think? And besides, Trevor loves it."

"Oh, um… I'll bet he does." Kira said uncertainly.

"I wonder why I've never seen you around here, I've lived next to Ramon and Griffin for almost my whole life."

"Well, its a long story…" Kira racked her brain how she could explain it, "see, I just found out I'm a… a witch, and that I'm going to a school named, um… Hogwarts… do you know where that is?"

"Yeah! I go there!"

Kira's expression brightened, "wicked! Can you tell me a little about it then?"

"Yeah, I sure could!" Neville said and took a step away from the tree. His foot caught on a root and he stumbled forwards into the ground clumsily. He put his hands out to catch himself, and consequently Trevor the toad leaped out of Neville's hand and sped off towards the peach trees.

"TREVOR!!!" Neville yelled, and quickly stood back up and brushed off his clothes. He looked at Kira.

"We have to catch him!" he exclaimed, urgency in his voice and raced after the leaping toad.

Kira, meanwhile had been laughing very hard over Neville's untimely stumble on the root and Trevor's escapade. Still laughing, she ran after Neville.

Soon they entered the peach tree orchard, where the overripe peaches had fallen all over the ground. Kira and Neville had to try and avoid the slippery rotten fruit as not to trip and fall.

Kira, a bit lighter and a more experienced runner, reached the bouncing toad first, and grasped hold of him. What she wasn't expecting though was a peach-pulp, wart-covered, belching toad in her hands. She shrieked in surprise and Trevor took the opportunity to soar out of her hands, free once again.

Neville hurdled past Kira, and with one big leap he caught Trevor in his outstretched fingers. However, he wasn't watching where he was going and slipped on a large, soggy, rotten peach and landed right on his back. Kira, right behind him, tripped over his peach-pulp-covered leg and landed with a SPLOOSH in the rotten peaches beside Neville.

Anyone walking through the peach orchard at that moment would have seen an incredibly amusing site. Both Kira and Neville were silent for a moment before they both burst out laughing. Kira took a look at Neville and then at herself. They were both covered in the rotten peaches that littered the ground around them. Neville had a bit of peach pulp shoved in his ear and Kira had some up her nose.

"Well, did you get the toad?" Kira asked between fits of giggles.

"Yeah," a bright red Neville answered and held up the burping toad as proof. The toad looked a bit disappointed at losing its chance at freedom.

Their laughter gradually died down and they stood up.

"My aunt and uncle's house is closer, you want to come and get cleaned up?" Kira offered.

"Yeah, Gran would kill me if I showed up looking like this anyhow," he chuckled.

So Kira and her new friend headed off towards Griffin and Ramona's, reenacting and laughing at their recent peach-incident, the whole while being _extra_ careful of where they walked.

A/N: I know, I know… not much happened in this chapter… but I think the next chapter might have more in it. The next chapter, in fact, is being written right now! Yippee! And Hogwarts will come in a few chapters, don't worry. Ok more then a few… but oh well.

Thanx again to my editor and chief, Digladior0124! She and I have been working on an outline, so now we know where the story is gonna go. Cool, huh? Lol…

Okay now my dear reader, let's not keep that review button waiting!


	8. Flying Familiarity

A/N: Gah! I'm so sorry it's taken forever!!!! But lemme explain… See, my BEST friend who I haven't seen in like **two years **called me like last week or something and said she was in town!! (She lives on the east coast) And at that time I had this chapter almost entirely done but then I didn't get a chance to finish it before my friend picked me up to spend a week together! And then when I got back, school started the next day! But anyhow, here's the chapter and by the way my best friend and I had BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling! 'Cept Kira and stuff…

Kiss kiss! Enjoy!

New Neighbor

Chapter 8

Kira giggled as she doused Neville with water using the hose beside her aunt's greenhouse. She aimed the force of water up at his face, making him sputter and yell "HEY!!"

He reached down and grabbed a bucket full of water he and Kira had been using to wash the peach pulp off their shoes. He swung it over Kira's head and with a SPLASH the peachy water enveloped her right down to her toes. Now Neville was laughing.

"Not fair!" Kira cried.

Neville didn't answer, just smiled a sheepish grin amidst his laughter.

Aunt Ramona called exasperatedly from the back porch, "Merlin! Are you two done already?"

Kira giggled and yelled, "yes, we're done," as she rinsed the last bit of peach off her leg. Now sopping wet, she and Neville approached the porch. Aunt Ramona pulled out her wand and muttered, "_exaresco_." In an instant Kira's clothes, as well as Neville's, were dry.

"There," Ramona said, satisfied, "now you two come inside, I made lunch."

Kira and Neville made their way inside and sat down at the dining room table. Set before them was a wide assortment of sandwiches and fruit. Kira glanced at Neville, who was staring hungrily at the food, licking his lips. She giggled and poked him, and Neville's face flushed red.

Soon food was placed on both their plates and they began to eat. Kira told Aunt Ramona about their adventure in the peach trees. Ramona chuckled at her account of the tale.

"Well, it surely was Fate that let you two meet. I was going to invite Harriet and Neville over for dinner tonight!"

"Harriet?" Kira asked between bites.

"That's my Gran's name," Neville said, though it came out sounding like, "Faf my Graffs hame," since his mouth was full of food.

Kira laughed and Aunt Ramona said calmly, "chew with your mouth closed dear."

Neville's cheeks became a bit pink and Ramona continued, "so I'll be right back, okay you two?"

Neville nodded calmly but Kira was still confused. But before she could ask anything, her aunt disappeared with a loud POP.

Kira nearly spit out her juice.

"Where did she GO?!?!?!" she asked frantically, quickly checking under the table and behind her chair.

Neville laughed as he grabbed another turkey and pickle sandwich.

"She only apparated, calm down," he said, biting into the sandwich.

"What?? What in heaven's name is 'apparated'???"

"Weff ifss fwhere you--"

"Neville!" exclaimed Kira, "swallow, please!"

Neville turned pink again and gulped down the bit of sandwich in his mouth.

"Well," he began, more clearly this time, "apparating is where you have the ability to disappear from a place and reappear somewhere else… but you have to pass this test, see, before you can apparate…"

"Oh," Kira said slowly, beginning to grasp the concept a little better, "you mean like a… driving test or something?"

Neville looked a little confused before he asked, "driving like in those metal muggle things with wheels?"

Kira grinned at his view of an automobile, "yeah, like that."

"Well I suppose the apparation test is sort of like that," he flushed, "I haven't actually, erm… passed mine yet. I failed the last… three times."

Kira's eyes widened and she laughed, "three times?!"

He smiled sheepishly, nodded, and reached for another sandwich. Suddenly there was another loud POP and Aunt Ramona reappeared beside the dining room table.

Kira wasn't quite as startled this time and Ramona smiled at her, "everything's set up now. I just spoke with Harriet and she and Neville will be joining us for dinner tonight. Isn't that wonderful?" Not waiting for an answer, she strode into the kitchen, still smiling pleasantly.

Neville swallowed the rest of his sandwich and grinned, "wicked! I can't wait to come over and eat some of your aunt's cooking. She's an even better cook than Gran."

"She's better than my mum, that's for sure."

Suddenly Uncle Griffin appeared before them with a POP, his face full of wrinkles but still maintaining that boyish-look.

"Uncle Griffin! You're home early!" Kira exclaimed happily. Griffin worked in the Department of Administrative Creature Communications at the Ministry of Magic. Griffin had explained to her that his department dealt with wizarding creature placement and management. "Sometimes those wild blast-ended skrewts like to migrate to muggle residential areas, which creates quite a chaotic mess," he'd told her.

"Yes, Kira. The Boss let me leave early. Oh, Neville, you've come for a visit. Fabulous."

Neville grinned at her uncle, "yeah Mr. Griffin, me and Kira met in the orchards this morning."

"Wonderful," Griffin replied. He turned to Kira.

"Kira, I thought since we have some extra time together today, you could learn how to fly a broom."

"A broom?!" asked Kira incredulously, "a **real** flying broom?!"

Griffin laughed and nodded. He motioned for Kira and Neville to accompany him out back. Kira followed him and Neville, taking one last look at the remaining food, followed also.

Griffin stopped outside a small shed beyond the greenhouse. He pulled on the handle and slowly the weathered door squeaked open. Reaching inside, he pulled out what looked like a long oak stick. Griffin held it out, the wood shimmering amber in the afternoon sunlight. It looked different than Kira imagined, worn, but still elegant and graceful. On the side of the broom Kira read, 'Airborne 202'.

"Well," Kira heard Griffin say "it's a bit old, quite the fashion in our time."

Kira reached out and grasped the broom. The wood was rough against her hand but in the strangest way it felt familiar.

"No," she said breathlessly, "its perfect."

She grasped it with her other hand also and swung her right leg over the broom as her uncle instructed. But Kira wasn't really listening.

"Now you want to push off gently from the ground to get it up in the air. After that, the broom will do what you tell it to."

"Okay," Kira murmured in preparation. Extremely gently, she pushed against the ground.

Nothing happened.

She looked worriedly at Uncle Griffin, confused.

"It's an old broom dear," he answered calmly, "you'll have to give it a bit more umph."

Kira nodded and stared at the broom, concentrating hard, yet feeling very calm. She pushed against the ground, though a bit harder than she had planned. The broom shot up into the air at an incredible speed, Kira holding on for dear life.

Hovering what felt like miles above the ground, the broom stopped in midair and Kira immediately loosened her grip. _She was flying_.

For a moment she felt light-headed as she gazed upon the lush fields that surrounded her aunt and uncle's property.

'_To the right_,' she thought and instantly the broom pulled towards the right.

'_U-turn_." The broom spun around and Kira smiled.

'_Spin._' She was spinning, around and around. She directed the broom down. She pulled up. She spiraled through the fruit trees, and swooped down almost to the ground. So close that she could feel the grass brushing against her hand.

Kira willed the broom to go faster. She sped past her bedroom balcony, and up onto the roof. Swirling around the chimney, she grinned to herself. Why did this sensation of freedom feel so natural? On the broom, flying above the world, she felt the utmost sense of independence. It was as if she had flown in a dream that she'd forgotten, but it was all coming back.

Kira sped over towards the garden shed where her uncle and Neville were waiting, staring up at her in shock.

Kira laughed and yelled to Neville, "do you want to give it a try?"

Neville took a step back.

"No thanks, I've had bad experiences on brooms. They don't seem to like me very much," he said, blushing.

Kira turned to Uncle Griffin, expecting him to comment on her broom ride. His eyes were distant, as if looking back into the past.

"Uncle Griffin? Are you alright?"

Suddenly he looked up, startled. He tried to smile, saying, "it was excellent Kira. Your… your mother was quite good on a broom as well."

Kira cast him a quizzical look but Uncle Griffin's gaze was hazy once again. Kira shrugged confusedly to herself but smiled at the thought of inheriting her birth-mother's broom skills.

She cast one last glace at Griffin and Neville before speeding off towards the open fields to experiment with elaborate twirls, twists, and dives.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Kira, set the table, please. I have to finish garnishing these deviled eggs," said Ramona.

Kira nodded and pulled the plates, silverware and other commodities she would need out of the cupboards. The moment she had finished setting the table, the doorbell rang.

"Can you get that, Kira?" Ramona asked, placing her finished platter of deviled eggs on the table. Griffin was outside, magically grilling some chicken on a grill he had materialized out of nowhere.

Kira strode through the house towards the foyer. She opened the front door and spoke a friendly hello to the Longbottoms standing there. But directly after greeting them her eyes widened in surprise.

The elderly woman standing on the doorstep was wearing long magenta robes and had the biggest hat on her head that Kira had ever seen. The hat had a huge brim, and on the very top of the hat, amidst a large amount multi-colored plastic flowers, sat a stuffed bird.

"Why hello, child," Harriet Longbottom said, walking into the house, her hat barely fitting through the doorway. Neville followed her in, carrying a half-squished box. Kira grinned at her friend and he returned the favor.

"Kira, I presume?" she asked, "Neville has told me about you." Her ocean-like blue eyes bore into Kira and though she felt a little uncomfortable, she felt… accepted by this old woman.

"Yes, I'm Kira," she answered sociably, "dinner is ready in the dining room."

"Wonderful," Mrs. Longbottom answered, tearing her deep stare away from the young woman. She smiled briefly and lifted the gigantic hat off her head. She placed it on the coat rack, filling the first four hooks. She briskly strode towards the dining room, followed my Neville and Kira.

"What's in the box?" Kira whispered questioningly.

"Cheesecake," Neville whispered back, "erm, I sort of… um… sat on it a little…" He blushed.

Kira giggled and they reached the dining room.

"Harriet!" Aunt Ramona exclaimed happily and embraced her friend, "it's absolutely wonderful to see you!"

"I know Ramona, we really should get together more often," Ms. Longbottom replied.

"Come, sit. You too, Neville," Ramona motioned towards the table, "dinner is in the kitchen. I'll go get it."

Kira sat in her normal spot beside Uncle Griffin and Neville took the spot next to her. Ms. Longbottom sat down in the seat beside where Aunt Ramona usually sat.

In seconds Aunt Ramona walked cautiously into the room, holding a large steaming casserole. She set it down in the middle of the table and took a seat in her chair. When the food was served and everyone began to devour the wonderful meal, Ramona spoke.

"You know Kira, you'll be seeing a lot of my dear friend Harriet at Hogwarts."

Kira furrowed her brow and swallowed a bite of casserole.

"Really?"

"Yes Kira," Ms. Longbottom said kindly, "I have a teaching job at Hogwarts this year. Charms, in fact."

"Oh! That's great! Neville hadn't told me yet," replied Kira, glancing at Neville. He looked sheepishly at her before stabbing his fork vehemently into a deviled egg.

Harriet Longbottom cast Neville a bit of a reproving look. Uncle Griffin addressed Kira.

"And do you remember the letter you received from Hogwarts?"

Kira nodded.

"So you remember how it told you that an associate would be coming to see you and would take you to Diagon Alley to purchase your school things," he continued, "well my dear, Ms. Longbottom will be that associate."

"Harriet will take you on the tenth of August to Diagon Alley," Ramona finished for him, "along with Neville."

"Alright then. Sounds good," Kira said, scooping up another bite of casserole with her fork. But another thought crossed her mind and the casserole never reached her mouth.

"But Auntie… I've been thinking… I'm so far behind in studies and all that. I mean really, I've never even heard of the things that my soon-to-be classmates have been studying for years!" she exclaimed, now very confused and a tad worried.

"Oh yes Kira, Dumbledore has thought of that little problem," Ms. Longbottom caringly explained, "you see, it's really rather simple. There is a spell that will be performed. On you, namely. The spell will cause the knowledge to enter your mind so you will know everything any other seventh year Hogwarts student would know."

Kira furrowed her brow.

"But isn't that cheating?"

"Oh no my dear. You didn't think we would just magically let you breeze through six years of learning did you?" Ms. Longbottom chuckled. Kira blushed sheepishly.

"There will be a series of assignments you will have to do. Most students don't have to do summer school work, but I'm sorry, there is no other way. After you purchase your school books, we will send you home with your assigned work, which we expect you to complete before summer's end."

Kira nodded slowly, a bit disappointed at the idea of schoolwork, but eager to experience a taste of wizarding school. However, her small smile quickly turned to a frown.

"How do I explain that I received all my knowledge through a spell? Surely the other people would ridicule me!" Kira inwardly shuddered at the thought of going to yet another school where she was branded a weirdo and a social outcast.

"Dumbledore, the staff, and I have given this dilemma lot of thought. We've come to the conclusion that the only way for you to avoid a nasty confrontation with a fellow student would be to give you a false story of your whereabouts the previous six years."

Kira thought to herself before replying, "Okay. So what's my 'story' then?"

"There is a small wizarding school in New Zealand of which a few of Dumbledore's friends attended. It is not well-known, which is lucky for so that no Hogwarts students will recognize the name."

Kira looked at Ms. Longbottom expectantly, "then what is the name of the school?" she asked after a few moments and Harriet had still not spoken.

"Gnarvou's Private School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she finally answered, "you shall tell anyone who inquires of your past that you attended there while living with your parents on the island. Your parents were sent on a mission to North America so you were sent here to live with your aunt and uncle, Griffin and Ramona Bloxton."

'_Simple enough,_' Kira thought to herself while nodding to Ms. Longbottom that she understood.

"When will the knowledge spell be performed?" asked Aunt Ramona.

"Diagon Alley," Harriet answered simply, "another associate from the school will be meeting me there to conduct the spell."

"And Neville?" Griffin inquired, "what of him? He knows of the false story."

Ms. Longbottom cast Neville a strict but caring look and said, "oh my dear Neville has sworn to Dumbledore not to tell a soul of Kira's situation."

Neville, who had not spoken the entire meal but had consumed three servings of casserole, nodded proudly.

"Don't worry, Kira," Neville said between bites of casserole, "I won't tell anyone."

Kira smiled at him and the group resumed eating their meal.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Bye Neville, I might see you tomorrow, okay?" Kira smiled as Neville nodded. Neville and his Gran were preparing to take a Portkey back to their home. Griffin had informed Kira how a Portkey worked and she was anxious to see the process in action. The Portkey was in the form of a ball-point pen.

Everyone said their goodbyes and both Neville and Ms. Longbottom reached for the pen. Suddenly it was as if their bodies were sucked into the pen. In an instant, they were gone.

"Wicked!" Kira exclaimed staring at the Portkey in awe.

Her aunt and uncle chuckled.

"Yes, I'd say that is a very swell invention," Griffin observed, following Ramona into the kitchen.

An hour later, after the kitchen was clean and Kira had beaten her uncle at Wizard Chess twice, Kira announced she was going to turn in for the night. She kissed her aunt and uncle good night and headed upstairs. This time, she avoided the third floor painting of the wretched old woman and arrived on the first floor. There a painting of a stylish French poodle politely directed her to another set of stairs and soon Kira was standing in front of an already snoozing Mav.

"Good night," she told the sleeping painting happily and walked towards her own bedroom.

"G'night lass," the painting mumbled sleepily between snores. Kira giggled and entered her bedroom. A few moments later she was snuggled under the covers in her comfortable bed and she quickly fell asleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

1:37 am.

With a start Kira sat bolt upright in bed with her blonde hair tangled and matted and sweat beads running down her forehead.

"HARRY!!!!!!!!!" she screamed.

A/N: BUA HA HA HA… does this count as a cliffhanger? I suppose, lol… anyway, I think that I should tell you guys that I might have to post chapters every two weeks instead of every week… Just cuz of school and homework and all that crap… Sorry!

Thanks to my wonderful editor-and-chief!!!! Digladior0124!!! Luv you, girl!

Read and Review!!!!!!!!!!!!


	9. Diagon Alley

A/N: EVERYTHING HERE BELONGS TO J.K.ROWLING… I simply twisted it around a little bit, lol

Sorry everybody for the long wait… I had forgotten how much time school takes up. GAH, WHERE DID SUMMER GO?!?!??!?! Ugh, I hate math too. Whoever invented algebra must surely be clinically insane.

Ok I'll stop complaining… READ!

New Neighbor

Chapter 9

'_Harry,_' Kira looked around her room frantically before realization hit her.

'_It's a dream, Kira, just a dream,_' she told herself repeatedly, trying to calm herself down.

The dream. Harry was there, and he was in trouble. But she couldn't help him. He'd been just lying there and her feet wouldn't move. Kira shook her head. It was a dream, for goodness sakes!

After what felt like eternity, Kira laid back down. She realized she'd woken the paintings that adorned her walls, most of which were grumbling at her in annoyance. She blushed and stared at the ceilings.

Harry. She hadn't thought of him in a while, what with Neville and all. Would she see him when she went home for the rest of the summer holiday? Part of her hoped so, and part of her dreaded a confrontation. One thing was for sure, she refused to be hurt again.

'_Why would I want to see him anyways,_' she thought angrily, shoving the longing to see Harry out of her mind, '_besides, with Hogwarts and everything, I'll completely forget about him._'

With that semi-confident thought in her mind, she settled down into the pillows and drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Harry,

How've you been, mate? Haven't heard from you much. How're you taking it? You know what I mean. Hermione and Mum are worried over you again, nothing new, right? Ginny's got a new boyfriend, a kid from Ravenclaw. And Fred and George got their own apartment where they're developing new merchandise for the business. Mum's glad their out of the house, but before the twins left they transfigured their room into a muggle bowling alley. Mum hasn't figured out how to break the spell yet. Everyone's wondering how your summer is going. Write me back this time, okay mate?

Ron

Harry sighed as he finished reading Ron's untidy scrawl. He folded the letter up and shoved it under the floorboard where it landed on top of a pile of unanswered letters. How was he taking 'it'? Fine, good as could be expected Harry supposed. But in truth, he dreaded his trip back to Hogwarts. Everyone will want to know what Heroic Harry did over the summer and how Perfect Potter was taking life after the War. He dreaded the questions, the stares, everything.

His thoughts drifted back to someone who had never viewed him as different or hero-like. Kira. Harry imagined her blonde hair and bright eyes. He wished she were here. Amongst all of the Dursley's ridiculing and taunting, a friendly face would be welcomed.

'_But you pushed her away, idiot._'

'_It's not like I could've helped it. I'll never see her again._'

'_You never know._'

'_Merlin! What are the chances of that!_'

Harry frowned and tried to clear his mind. What was done was done. When Kira got back from her aunt and uncle's, he would be friendly and say hello, but he'd have to keep emotions out of it. It wouldn't be fair to her.

He sighed for a second time before heading downstairs, where a scoffing Aunt Ramona shoved a slice of grapefruit and a piece of dry toast into his face before serving Dudley his immense platter of bacon and eggs.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Here Kira," Ramona said as she dropped some odd shaped coins in Kira's purse, "these are for your school things, robes, wand, and lunch."

"What are these?" Kira asked, picking up one of the larger coins and examining it closely.

"Well, that's Galleon, and those are Sickles and Knuts. They're wizard money. Harriet and Neville can help you with your purchases."

Kira nodded and placed the peculiar coin back into her purse. They were leaving for Diagon Alley via Floo in five minutes to buy her school supplies.

The past week had been wonderful. Kira had a small birthday party with her aunt, uncle, and the Longbottoms. Afterwards, her uncle transfigured the coffee table into a television, which Neville was quite fascinated with. They watched movies while her aunt and uncle and Ms. Longbottom chatted in the living room. For her birthday, her aunt and uncle had given her an extra pouch full of coins to buy whatever she wished at Diagon Alley.

Once Neville had whizzed away within the fireplace, Kira waved goodbye to her aunt and uncle and grabbed a bit of the sparkling Floo powder. She stepped into the fireplace and remembering not to inhale this time, shouted, "DIAGON ALLEY!" Her world started spinning and she disappeared in a whirl of green flames.

CLUNK. Kira landed on her duff in a strange fireplace, covered in ashes. She crawled out of the fireplace on her hands and knees and saw Neville brushing off his clothes nearby. He helped her up and she started dusting off her clothes as well. Within moments there was another clunk in the fireplace, signaling that Ms. Longbottom had arrived. A few minutes later the trio looked presentable enough, so Harriet led them down the stairs of the building they had arrived in. On the first floor of the shop, Kira saw what appeared to be a bookstore; each one of the four walls was completely covered with books.

"Neat," she murmured, examining the book nearest to her titled, "Dwarf Anatomy Made Easy." Kira cringed at the thought of what that book might contain. She moved along the row, tracing her finger across "Unicorns in Arabia: Economic or Catastrophic?" and "Lions and Dragons and Ghouls, Oh My!" Neville finally dragged her away so they could purchase their various schoolbooks. A half hour later, they walked out of the bookshop, hands full with bags. Ms. Longbottom promptly zapped them back to her aunt and uncle's house with her wand.

Kira took a moment to look around Diagon Alley. It was amazing. Everyone strolling by was dressed in robes and a diverse mixture of hats. The shops looked small and quaint, lining both sides of the busy street. Kira followed Harriet down the way, while Neville pointed out different shops and things Kira had never heard of before.

"Whoa, look!" he said, pointing to a lime green triangular shop that stood in the middle of a small courtyard, "I think that's new this year."

The walked around the shop and Kira read the sign:

Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes

"Oh I know them!" Neville exclaimed proudly and peered in the open door. He waved, and two tall, lanky redheads waved back from behind the counter.

"Old friends from school," Neville explained to Kira as they passed by a shop full of broomsticks.

"Wow," Kira breathed as she surveyed the wide assortment of brooms in the front window. The mahogany, birch, and oak handles gleamed in the sunlight. They continued walking and stopped in a few different stores, purchasing cauldrons, quills, parchment, and various other things. Then they approached a clothing shop. Kira presumed here was where she was to buy her robes. When she walked inside, and woman behind the counter asked, "hello darling, here for your robes?"

Kira nodded and the woman motioned for her and Neville to each step onto a small stool that was placed on the floor. The woman, who introduced herself as Madame Malkins, snapped her fingers and instantly two yellow measuring tapes appeared before them and began taking their measurements in every angle possible. A few minutes later the measuring tape disappeared. Madame Malkins glanced at her clipboard.

"Okay you two, I'll be right back with the fabric."

XXXXXXXXXX

New robes in hand, Kira followed the Longbottoms down another alley and approached an old rickety shop. The faded, crooked sign that hung above the door read:

Olivander's Wands

"Wands!!!" Kira exclaimed happily, "I get to buy my wand!!!"

Neville laughed as they entered the dark, musty, front room. The walls were all extremely tall, and covered in shelves. Shelves that were full of small, long, narrow boxes. No one was there. Ms. Longbottom tapped on the front counter with her handbag. A whirring sound came from the back of the store. With a sharp jolt a small, bald man appeared atop the ladder that had just come into view. He bounded off the ladder onto the floor and peered up towards Kira's face through gigantic bifocals. Kira felt as if she shrunk under his mysterious stare even though the man was distinctly shorter than her.

'_Must be my eyes,_' she figured.

"I'd been wondering when you'd come to my shop, Kira Venatici."

"Mr. Olivander, it's Kira Sanden," Ms. Longbottom informed the old man briskly.

Mr. Olivander's eyes flashed strangely.

"Well, Miss Sanden, we need to find you a wand, no?"

"Yes," Kira mumbled quietly, bewildered.

"I'll return in a moment," he replied and jumped once again onto the ladder. He pushed against the nearest shelf and whizzed away.

"Don't worry, he has that effect on almost everybody. But he makes the best wands in all of England," Neville whispered in her ear. He received a disapproving look from his Gran.

The trio stood in silence for a few minutes before a familiar whirring sound could be from the back aisle. A few seconds later Mr. Olivander piled 20 long, narrow boxes onto the front counter. He opened the first one.

"Billywig heartstring, Mahogany, 8 inches," he said, handing her the wand. Kira took it in her hand.

"What do I do with it?" she asked, feeling awkward.

"Give it a little twist or something," the old man murmured, staring intensely at the wand.

Kira flicked the wand and with a loud POP, aisle three of the tiny shop came crashing down with a rumble. Mr. Olivander snatched the wand out of her hand before Kira could react. With seconds another wand was placed in Kira's hand.

"Chimera hair, Ash, 10 ½ inches," he told her.

Kira whipped the wand up and a streak of light came out of the end. It was gone in a flash, but a screaming voice caused Kira to turn around in surprise. Neville had hit the ceiling with a thump. Mr. Olivander grabbed the second wand from her hand. He opened the third box.

XXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, the tiny shop was in chaos and Mr. Olivander still had not found a wand that had satisfied him. Piles and piles of wand failures littered the floor. But Mr. Olivander appeared as calm as ever. He grabbed another narrow box off the shelf.

"Faery wing, 11 inches, Holly," he murmured as he slid the lid off. He handed her the wand. Kira flicked it a little, her arm tired.

An electric shock ran up her exhausted arm. Gold sparks flew out the end and exploded in the air. Kira stared at the wand in shock, but Mr. Olivander clapped his bony hands almost gleefully.

"I should have known…" he said, telling her the price. Neville helped her pay with some of the coins called Galleons, and the trio left the shop. Kira was glad to be rid of the frail, old man but excited at the prospect of her very own wand. She smiled.

Ms. Longbottom pulled out her wand. In moments the robes and wand had disappeared, back to her aunt and uncle's house with the rest of her purchases.

"Kira, I have to set up the appointment for your knowledge spell. Why don't you two get lunch?" she offered, dropping a few coins into Neville's hand. Kira nodded and the older woman bustled away.

Neville led Kira through the crowd, to a small café across from the broom store. Starving, Kira and Neville both ordered cheeseburgers and ice cream. Their food materialized in front of them the second she told the waiter her order. She thought of the slow service at the restaurants by her parents house. This spell sure could come in handy.

Neville looked out the window as he chomped down on his dripping burger.

"Viff pwace haffen--"

"Neville!" Kira laughed, "you've got to remember to swallow first!"

Neville abruptly swallowed, an odd gulping noise coming from his throat. Neville winced.

"And maybe you should chew it all the way too," Kira giggled.

Neville flushed and continued, "this place sure hasn't changed much since the war, I'm glad."

"What about a war?" Kira asked absentmindedly, picking the onions off her lunch.

Neville stared at his food.

"The war," he said quietly, "haven't your aunt and uncle talked to you about it?"

Kira furrowed her brow, trying to remember.

"No," she said slowly, "I don't think so."

"Er… it was something that happened last year… I suppose it had been going on for some time though…"

Kira looked at him questioningly. But Neville hadn't taken his eyes off his burger.

"Well, it sounds awfully big to be called a 'war' don't you think?" she asked, trying to coax him into telling her more.

"Uh…" Neville started slowly, clearing his throat, "there was this guy… Vol-- Um, we just call him You-Know-Who… uh, he killed people."

He gulped softly, his hamburger abandoned.

"He killed a lot of people," he finished gazing out the window. Kira saw his eyes had glazed over.

"Neville?" she asked timidly, "what happened?"

The bell on the door of the café rung, signaling the entrance of a potential customer.

"Longbottom!" the first boy exclaimed in a Scottish accent. Following him was another boy and girl. They headed towards their table.

"Oh hey, Seamus," Neville said, instantly cheerful. Kira furrowed her brow at him. He'd just been all weird. Now he was fine?

Seamus' eyes traveled to Kira.

"And who might the pretty lady with ye be, mate?" Seamus asked, staring at Kira's purple eyes. Kira quietly snorted to herself in annoyance.

"This is my neighbor, Kira Sanden. She's going to Hogwarts this year."

Seamus grinned and slid down next to Kira. She blushed. The other boy and the girl pulled up chairs. While Seamus was tall, probably six feet tall, the second boy was a bit shorter, maybe five foot six, Kira guessed. Seamus had longish sandy brown hair, with hazel eyes. The second boy had black hair, with dark gray eyes. The girl had too much make-up on, though she was pretty no doubt. She had long dark hair and olive skin.

"This is Dean Thomas. And that's Parvati Patil," Seamus told her, motioning to the other strangers, "so where're you from?"

"Lit-- I mean, New Zealand," stuttered Kira.

"New Zealand! Wicked!" exclaimed Dean, breaking his silence.

"Why are you coming to Hogwarts then?" inquired Parvati, sucking some of her chocolate milkshake through a straw.

"Parent's job," Kira replied quickly. Seamus, Dean, and Parvati nodded casually and Kira relaxed. Good, so the story works.

The bell above the door jingled once again and Ms. Longbottom bustled into the room.

"We have to go, Kira," Neville said, motioning towards his Gran.

"Already, mate?" Seamus asked, disappointed.

Neville nodded and Kira grabbed her purse.

"Nice meeting you three," she said, waving as she followed Neville out of the café. The group waved back and the door of the café swung closed. They walked out into the crowd.

"Have a nice lunch, dear?" Gran asked Neville. He nodded but didn't say anything.

"Good," the older woman said absentmindedly before addressing Kira, "I've met with the Professor who will perform the knowledge spell, we're going to go meet them now, okay?"

Kira nodded.

"Alright then," murmured Ms. Longbottom, before leading them along the busy sidewalk.

As Harriet and Neville dodged a small cart selling sugared peanuts, Kira lost sight of them. She hurried forward, trying to see Neville's bobbing head within the crowd. She caught her shoe on the curb, and tripped. She fell straight into a person dressed in billowing black robes. She was immediately pushed away by the person whom she had tripped into, causing her to fall on her behind in the street.

"Watch it! These are new robes," a malicious, drawling voice snapped.

A/N: Thanx to all who reviewed, I have like 49 reviews now! YAY! It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside… Lol… Thanx to my editor, Digladior0124 who FINALLY edited this chapter for me… after a little coaxing…

Hoped you liked this chappy, now PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	10. A New Companion

A/N: Ugh, I'm starting to hate school already! And I've been in school for what, 4 weeks? No offense to all you math-freaks out there, but math SUCKS. Okay enough about my depressing life, enjoy this chapter!

New Neighbor

Chapter 10

Draco glanced carelessly down at the street upon which the unfortunate bloke had fallen.

'_It's their fault, tripping into a Malfoy, what were they thinking?!_'

Down in the street sat a curtain of tangled hair in a stunning shade of blonde.

'_How odd_,' Draco thought to himself before dusting off his gloves and turning to leave.

"Of all the insufferable insolence!" yelled the person in a street angrily, pushing off from the ground in an attempt to stand, "how rude!!"

Draco rolled his eyes and turned to face the annoying twerp.

The annoying twerp, who in fact turned out to be a young woman, stood before him with her fists clenched and a murderous expression of her face. Draco was taken aback by her eyes, which were purple. The astonished expression did not linger for long however, Draco had learned to keep his cool. He scanned the girl up and down. Not bad, he concluded. He wondered why he hadn't seen her before. His searching stare seemed to aggravate the girl further.

"Apologize, you impertinent arse!" she yelled, crossing her arms over her chest. Her screaming had caused a few people to turn and stare. Recognizing Draco however, they quickly kept walking. Draco smirked.

"Really, love, you should watch where you're going," he drawled seductively yet in a sinister way.

The girl glared, her piercing purple eyes shooting daggers at him.

"Oh, really," drawled Draco in annoyance, "sod off, girl."

The young woman opened her mouth again to send more pitiful taunts his way, but a familiar face appeared beside her.

"Longbottom," Draco growled sarcastically, "here to save the day, are we? Because you really should, before the damn girl hurts herself."

Neville glowered at him before turning to the still livid girl.

"Kira, don't listen to him. C'mon, let's go," Longbottom murmured pathetically. Draco smirked as Longbottom led the girl called Kira away. He watched them go. Kira's back view wasn't that bad either. She glanced over her shoulder to send one last menacing look his way, her purple eyes flashing. Draco smirked back.

'_Purple eyes… how very peculiar,_' he thought to himself before he strode off into the crowd, black robes billowing out behind him.

XXXXXXXXXX

"…And then he just _stood _there, smirking his horrid _smirk _at me! And THEN, he had the nerve to tell me to sod off! Gah! I should've--"

"Okay, okay. I don't really want to know what you 'should've' done, 'cause I'm sure it would have been ugly," Neville said, trying to calm his hysteric friend down, "and anyways, that's Malfoy for you. Not much you can expect from people like him."

Kira let out a frustrated sigh/growl and followed Neville down the crowded street.

"What's with him anyway? What's he got stuck up his arse?"

Neville answered, "he just… a _Malfoy_. Most Slytherins are like that."

"Slytherins?" Kira asked, the name sounding familiar, "oh! One of the four houses, right? And you're in Gryffindor, and then the other two are… Um… Ravenclaw and… Hufflypuffy?"

It took Neville a couple minutes to stop laughing.

"Ravenclaw and _Hufflepuff_," he managed after his fit of laughter.

"Neville! Kira! Where _have _you two been?!" a shrill voice called out. Kira recognized it as Ms. Longbottom.

"Uh, we got lost in the crowd," Neville said quickly, walking over to Gran followed by Kira. Gran was standing in front of a small dingy pub. Kira furrowed her brow. They weren't going in _there_, were they?

"Humph. Well, follow more closely next time then," Ms. Longbottom chided, "now follow me."

She walked into the pub.

'_Oh great,_' Kira thought to herself, rolling her eyes, '_just my luck._'

The door creaked as they entered. A tall, thin man with huge bug-like eyes glanced over at them from behind the bar counter. He was cleaning a beer glass with what looked like a filthy, grayish rag.

"This way," said Harriet, unfazed by the grimy insides of the tavern. The went to the back of the store, and down a hallway. The old woman stopped abruptly in front of the last door, Neville almost fell into her. She gripped the rusty knob and the door groaned as it opened. Inside, there were two chairs. One was empty and another was filled by a thin old man. The old man was wearing long purple robes covered with stars and moons, and had a long, white beard. Behind half-moon glasses, his eyes were twinkling. When the trio entered, his face crinkled into a smile.

"Welcome, Harriet, Mister Longbottom, and… Miss Kira Sanden."

Gran nodded in greeting. Neville said eagerly, "hello Professor Dumbledore, sir."

Dumbledore smiled at him before moving his twinkling eyes to Kira.

"Kira, this is Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts," Ms. Longbottom told the younger woman.

Kira smiled timidly at the Headmaster. She was a bit intimidated by his presence.

"Miss Sanden, as my dear colleague Harriet has already informed you, today we will be performing a special knowledge spell. It will help you acquire knowledge vital to your stay at Hogwarts. Do you understand?"

Kira nodded.

"Ah, very well then. Sit down please," Dumbledore said, motioning to the only other chair in the room. Kira walked cautiously to the chair and sat down. She nervously clasped her sweaty palms together.

"Alright then. Ho hum," he mumbled cheerfully. Kira raised an eyebrow but quickly lowered it.

Dumbledore lifted his wand. Kira blinked.

"_Adepto Eruditio,_" he said quietly. An eerie red mist drifted out of the end of Dumbledore's wand. Slowly it surrounded her. Then it seemed as though her sight was impaired.

'_Where did Professor Dumbledore go?_' she wondered fearfully. All she could see was red.

Kira felt like her brains were shaking inside her head. Her mind was spinning. Voices. She could hear voices.

'_Oh joy. I'm a schizophrenic now._'

Blurbs of conversations filled her head. She was still spinning. She felt a bit nauseous. More blurbs, more spinning. All she could see was red. Her stomach lurched. Was she falling? Kira blacked out.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Kira! C'mon wake up!" said a far off voice. Neville?

"Miss Sanden, wake up please," said another. Was that the old man who made her world go red?

Kira opened her eyes. Three blurry faces hovered above her face. As the images cleared, she recognized them as Gran, Neville, and Professor Dumbledore. Neville reached out his hand and helped her sit up. She'd been laying on the floor, the chair she'd been sitting on was on its side a few feet away.

"Utt 'appened?" she mumbled almost incoherently.

"You fell out of your chair, my dear," Dumbledore said merrily, "alas, do not worry. It is a perfectly normal side effect of this sort of spell. Chocolate?"

Kira blinked.

'_Chocolate?_' she wondered. She took some anyway.

Her head hurt, and one side of her bum felt sore. She supposed this was because she had fallen on the floor sideways.

Dumbledore and Neville helped Kira onto the chair. Kira rubbed her temples.

"So, er…" she started timidly, "did it work?"

"I think so, though we need to make sure, don't you think?" said Dumbledore, stroking his long beard, "tell me, how many beetle roots does it take to get a Huic Potion to its boiling point?"

'_What in the world is he talking ab--_' Kira thought before feeling an odd tingling down her back.

'_Merlin! I know this???_'

"Two, though they must be picked a week after the full moon to be useable," she said, astounded with herself.

"And what would be the charm for inflating a Lobalug with digestive malfunctions?" he asked happily.

Kira's brain prickled.

"Vesco Pollexium," she said.

"Ah yes my dear, it appears to have worked. All is in order. Now remember, you must speak to no one about this spell. Do you understand?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes glittering.

Kira nodded.

"Wonderful!" the old man exclaimed, clapping his hands together. He calmed down and pulled a sheet of parchment out of his pocket.

"Now here is the list of assignments you will be expected to complete before the start of term," he said, handing the list to Kira, "I know it will be a burden, but we must have some record of your academic achievements. I will send for you on the first day of school, and you will turn them in at that time. Understood?"

Kira nodded once again and the Longbottoms bid goodbye to the Headmaster.

Dumbledore began tapping his temple with his forefinger.

"I think I'm in a need of a bubble bath. Farewell!" And with that, he disapparated.

XXXXXXXXXX

"If you don't mind, Ms. Longbottom, I wanted to make one more stop," Kira told the older woman.

"And where would that be?"

"Um, I thought I'd stop by the pet store… I, er, wanted to get a pet like Neville has. With the money my aunt and uncle gave me, I mean."

"You want a toad?" asked Neville from behind her.

"Maybe not a toad, but surely they have many different animals, right?"

"Yes, dear, we can go there next. Last stop though," Ms. Longbottom reminded Kira, who was sick of shopping.

They weaved through the crowd, traveling along the sidewalk towards the broom shop. Soon Kira found herself in front of a small pet store, whose front window was jammed full of various owl cages. All of the owls were ogling Kira with huge eyes.

The tiny bell rang as Kira entered through the door. Neville and his Gran had decided to stand outside and wait, and soon Kira found out why. Immediately the air was filled with meows, hooting, chirping, mooing, and who knows what else. Kira could barely hear herself think. A young yet frazzled-looking woman came up to her.

"You be buyin' a pet this mornin' miss?" she asked.

"Yes," Kira yelled.

"Got anythin' in mind?"

"No, I think I'll just have a look around," Kira said loudly.

The woman nodded and told Kira to ask her if she had any questions. Then Kira was free to explore. She passed by what seemed like hundreds of metal cages, all filled with one, two, or even three animals, some of which Kira had never encountered before.

She stopped at a cage holding a toad that looked quite like Trevor. However, it was pink in color.

"Hi there," she said, poking her finger through the metal bars.

The pink toad suddenly appeared as if it needed to belch, but when it opened its mouth, it exploded, sending pink goo everywhere. Including on Kira.

"Disgusting!!!" she shrieked, wiping the pink slime off her face.

"Don' worry miss, does it all the time. He'll grow back in a day'er two," called the woman from behind the front counter.

Kira looked back into the now-empty cage. Except of course for a small puddle of slime on the cage floor. She finished cleaning the goop out of her hair, and continued quickly down the aisle, eager to see some not-so-slimy creatures.

She slowed her pace when she heard meowing.

'_Ahh, cats. Normal creatures,_' Kira giggled to herself.

She strode by what seemed like hundreds of cages filled with black, white, brown, and multi-colored felines. Some were purring, some were yowling, and some were simply silent. A large gray tabby even appeared to be glaring at Kira as she passed.

At the end of the aisle, a certain cat caught her eye. The feline had its back to Kira, but looked bored. It was softly patting aimlessly at a ball with its paw.

"Here kitty kitty," Kira murmured. The cat immediately glanced over at her, with big, bright, _lime green _eyes. The cat meowed softly and batted at the metal bars.

"You're a cutie, aren't you?" Kira cooed. The cat rolled onto its stomach, lazily batting at the air. Its fur was mostly white, with a large black splotch on its back. Its ears and the fur around its eyes were also black. Kira stuck her finger at the cat and stroked its ear a bit. The cat started to purr.

"Found one ya'like miss?" a voice said, startling Kira.

Kira turned to see the clerk behind her.

"Yes," Kira said, "I'll take this one."

"Ye've picked a nice one, miss. A lil' girl, 'bout a year old," the lady said cheerfully as she creaked the cage door open. She swiftly picked the cat up with one hand and offered, "I'll have a crate made for you to carry her home in, if ye'd like."

"No, that won't be necessary, I can carry her."

Ten minutes later Kira walked out of the shop, cat in one hand, and a bag filled with cat food in the other, her purse considerably lighter.

"Oh Kira, how utterly sweet," Ms. Longbottom said, reaching out to pat the feline on the head.

"Wicked! May I hold it?" Neville asked.

"It's a she, Neville, and yes, you may hold her."

Neville took the purring cat into his arms.

"Oh, you're a charming one, aren't you?" Neville cooed in an odd high-pitched voice.

Kira giggled as they followed Gran down the crowded street.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So have you decided on a name yet?" Neville asked as he trailed a string around the floor for Kira's new cat to chase.

"No, I just I can't think of one that fits," Kira answered from the couch.

The two friends were in Kira's room, chatting. A full suitcase sat on the floor, ready to go. In only a few hours Kira would leave to go back to her home on Privet Drive for the rest of the summer.

"How about…" Neville furrowed his brow, thinking hard, "Growlzer?"

Kira laughed, "no, I don't think that fits her too well, Neville."

Neville frowned and stared at the cat. The feline was entertaining herself by gnawing on Neville's shoelaces.

"She really is a laugh," Kira giggled.

"Then what about… Marbles?"

"Nah…"

"Snookie?"

"No."

"Tippy?"

"Um… no."

"George?"

"Honestly, Neville! It's a girl!"

Neville laughed, "well I'm just about out of ideas!"

Kira watched her new pet fondly.

"Hm… What about Moxie?" Neville asked.

"Moxie! That's it! Perfect! You're a genius, Neville!" Kira hopped off the cough, rushed over to her cat, and picked her up.

"Moxie," she cooed, "perfect isn't it? Do you like it?"

Moxie meowed happily.

"C'mon let's go tell your aunt and uncle," Neville said.'

"Better take my bags too," Kira said sadly, "I'll be leaving soon."

"Oh yeah," Neville said downheartedly and grabbed the suitcase.

"Plus, I have to say goodbye to Maverick!" Kira exclaimed and rushed out to see the painting.

"Mav, I have to leave soon," Kira told the sneaker when she reached him.

"Oh now that's a shame, that is," he murmured, "but you know lass, I jus' might be seein' ye at 'Ogwarts, I will."

"Really?" Kira asked incredulously, "how?"

Neville appeared beside Kira, huffing and puffing from the effort of dragging the heavy suitcase.

"I have another paintin', at 'Ogwarts, in one of their corridors, I do. I go there from time to time, when I'm not needed here o'course, lass."

"Wonderful! Maybe I'll talk to you soon then, Mav! Goodbye" Kira said as she ran down the stairs, Neville rushing after her.

Mav chuckled to himself.

"Yes, I'll be seein' ye lass. Ye can be sure o'that."

A/N: Thanks to my editor and to all who reviewed! I luv you guys so much! Before I started writing this fic I would read stories and not review. But now I realize that reviews are SOOOO important to the author! They help A LOT. But don't forget to be brutally honest. Don't worry, I can take it!

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!! (please?)


	11. More Surprises

A/N: OH MY GOSH! I am sooooooooo sorry for the HUMONGOUS and unbelievably long wait. I dunno why it took me so long! Busy, I suppose. And the last three weekends have been chaos, I swear!

The first part of this chapter moves a little fast, but oh well, it works.

Anyhoo, enjoy my dear readers!

New Neighbor

Chapter 11

Kira furrowed her brow in disgust at the still un-completed list of school assignments. She still had five more to do, and only a week and a half to complete them.

Kira stared at the blank parchment, except for the title, "Werewolves" at the top.

Kira let out a sigh. It was good to be home, but she couldn't wait to get back to the wizarding world. She'd received a few letters from Neville. They planned to meet at Kings Cross Station a half hour before the train leaves so they could get a compartment together.

Something soft slid across her leg. Kira looked down to see Moxie purring on the floor. She smiled and picked up her pet. Moxie sure had attracted a lot of attention on Privet Drive. Her parents had loved the feline, but the neighbors hadn't been so welcoming. Perhaps it had to do with Moxie's interesting habit of leaving dead mice on multiple neighbor's doorsteps. Kira had insisted Moxie was simply bringing them what she thought in her cat mind was a present, but the neighbors hadn't been too keen on accepting that explanation.

She set her quill down on the desk. School could wait for an hour, she needed some downtime.

"Hello honey, its so nice having you home again," Mrs. Sanden said from the dining room table once Kira had appeared in the doorway.

Kira smiled back and sat down next to her mother.

"Ready for some lunch?" asked Mrs. Sanden. Kira scanned the room. No food or dishes were out on the counter. Maybe her mother didn't plan on trying any new abnormal concoction today.

"Sure, Mum."

"Wonderful," her mother said, clapping her hands together, "because I've been dying to try this recipe…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Kira set her quill down on the desk. She smiled proudly at the finished werewolf essay.

'_Finally,_' she thought to herself, '_now I need a run._'

She used to run in the evenings, but now she ran in the afternoon to avoid seeing Harry. However, a part of her always seemed disappointed when she didn't see him.

She quickly changed into her exercise shorts and tennis shoes and went downstairs.

"Mum, I'm going for a run down the street. I'll be back soon."

"Okay," her mother said distractedly from the kitchen. She was still working on the recipe she had planned on serving for Kira's lunch. According to her, there was something wrong with the recipe and she was determined to modify it to perfection. Kira dreaded having to taste-test it when it was "perfected." She ended up eating a turkey sandwich for lunch anyway.

As she ran down the street, Kira let her mind wander. At first it was so strange with all the new knowledge in her head, but she had adjusted to it. She loved thinking about the different things she'd never known before like spells, potions, and such. She was optimistic about returning to school for the first time in her life. No people pointing fingers at her eyes or hair, nobody whispering "weirdo" as she passed by in the hall. And even if someone did, she could just hex them with her wand couldn't she? She laughed aloud. Oh, it would surely be a great year.

Kira rounded the corner and arrived at the park. The park where she and Harry had met weeks before. She quickly scanned the area. No Harry. She was relieved and somewhat saddened at the same time. She paused to stretch out her muscles.

She turned when she heard a muffled meow. Behind her was none other than Moxie, a dead mouse hanging from her mouth.

"Disgusting, Moxie! Put that thing down!" Kira shrieked.

Moxie's eyes danced rebelliously, but she set the mouse down on the ground nonetheless.

Kira relaxed.

"Now come here, you," she cooed, scratching the feline behind the ear.

"Nice cat. Is it yours?" asked a voice from behind her.

Kira jumped and turned around. Harry's face stared back at her own.

"Er, yeah... I bought her while I was at my aunt's…" Kira stepped back from Harry and reached up to brush the hair out of her eyes.

'_Oh joy. I'm all sweaty._'

"Did you have fun while you were there?"

Kira turned away from him and picked up Moxie, whose eyes were dancing mischievously. Kira lifted an eyebrow at her but Moxie only meowed.

"Uh, yes, I had fun. Excuse me, I have to go."

"Kira wait--" he said, grabbing her shoulder.

She spun around to look at him, her eyes hard and unreadable. Harry watched her confusedly and then averted his gaze.

"Uh, we only have a week of summer holiday and… I just wanted to say…" He looked up again, studying her.

"I'll miss you when we both leave, Kira."

Kira felt her resolve starting to break so she turned away. Moxie meowed again, as if in protest.

"Well, I'll see you later than," she said uncomfortably and began walking towards the street. She felt Harry's gaze on her.

'_Sod off. I don't want to see him again,_' Kira lied to herself determinately.

She didn't notice the strange look Harry gave her as she rounded the corner.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Honestly, Kira!" her mother yelled up the stairs, "you're going to miss the train if you don't hurry up!"

"I know, Mum!" Kira exclaimed distractedly from her bedroom. She grabbed her new robes off the hangers in her closet and shoved them messily into her trunk.

'_Wand? Check. Robes? Check. School assignments? Check. School supplies? Check. Moxie? Moxie!?!?!_'

Kira bent down in search of the feline. She wasn't under the bed, or in the bureau. Frustrated, she grabbed the cat food and the rest of her belongings and put them in the trunk. She slammed it closed and hauled it downstairs.

"Finally, dear," her mother chided, "now when did Ramona say she would be here to pick you up?" her mother asked.

"She'll be here any minute, Mum. Tell me, have you seen Moxie anywhere?"

Mrs. Sanden thought for a moment.

"Well, I can't be sure, but I think I recall seeing her out on the back porch this morning."

"Thanks, Mum. I'll check," Kira said as she rushed out the back door.

Sure enough, Moxie was on the back porch, lazily batting at a plant.

"Moxie!" Kira exclaimed, scooping up her cat, "will you never be efficient? We're going to be late!" She hurried back inside and heard a muffled thump in the living room.

"Anyone home?" called the voice of her dear Aunt Ramona.

"Yes, I'm here," Kira replied, appearing in the living room. Her aunt was covered in soot and wearing a particularly odd green jumper, a wool sweater, and long, velvet gloves.

"Ah, good. Ready to go then?"

"Give me one minute," Kira answered, and rushed up the stairs. She put Moxie in her crate and latched the door. She carried Moxie downstairs and pulled both the cat crate and her trunk into the living room.

Kira's mother and father walked into the kitchen. Her mother was sniffling and held a handkerchief in her hand.

"Mum, I'll be back for Christmas, you know," Kira said kindly, hugging her mum and kissing her on the cheek.

"Oh I know dear," her mother sniffled loudly, "I just can't imagine," another sniffle, "you not coming home from school every day."

Mr. Sanden patted his wife on the back. Kira turned and hugged her dad and gave him a kiss on the cheek as well.

"I love you both," she told them before facing her aunt and scooping up handful of Floo powder.

"Oh!" her mother exclaimed, rushing toward her daughter, "I forgot. I made you lunch!" She held out a lumpy mound covered in plastic wrap.

Kira took it and smiled at her mum.

"Thanks, Mum, can't wait to try it," she lied. She stepped into the fireplace and heard her mother sniffle awfully loudly behind her.

"985 HONEY HOUSE LANE!" she yelled, and disappeared in a whirl of green smoke.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Neville!" Kira cried, hugging her friend.

Neville returned the hug briefly and then pulled away.

"C'mon, Kira. We're going to miss the train!" He hurried off into the crowd.

"Better follow him dear," Aunt Ramona said, pushing her back.

Kira and her aunt hastened off after Neville. He led them to the space between Platforms 9 and 10. Kira pulled her school letter out of her jean pocket. Scrawled on the back was where Mrs. Longbottom had told her to find the train.

"Platform 9 ¾?" she asked aloud.

"Oh yes, dear. It's right over there," Ramona said, pointing into the crowd.

Kira squinted.

'_What in the world is she talking about?_'

Neville saw the look on her face.

"Here Kira, I'll show you," said Neville as he grabbed his trunk and started walking towards a brick pillar. Just when Kira thought he would turn, he walked straight into the wall! And disappeared!

She turned to her aunt in confusion. Aunt Ramona didn't seem to notice.

"See that? Alright sweetie, go on. Don't be scared," she kissed Kira on the cheek, "your Uncle Griffin and I love you. Don't forget to write!" Her eyes twinkled. Ramona was starting to get weird looks from muggles passing by. Most likely because of her outfit.

Kira gulped. She grabbed the trunk and Moxie's crate. She smiled weakly at her aunt. She started to run toward the brick barrier and closed her eyes.

'_Please don't let anyone walk in front of me. Or, more importantly, please don't let me break my jaw!!!_'

Just when she expected to charge headfirst into a brick pillar, nothing happened. Kira opened her eyes. A shiny, red train engine stood majestically on the tracks before her, steam billowing from its smoke stake. Gleaming gold letters were welded to the side that read, "Hogwarts Express." She stood with her mouth hanging open when Neville called, "Kira, over here! Hurry up!"

Kira realized that they were the only people on the platform besides a few families waving goodbye to their children who were already on the train. She rushed to Neville and the pair hauled their trunks aboard. The train whistled, and lurched forward. Kira followed Neville down the corridor as he checked in every compartment window to see if it was empty. After what seemed like thirty minutes of dragging her trunk and the cat crate, Neville found a compartment and they settled inside.

"Ha, so much for getting here early," Kira giggled.

Neville started to laugh but then froze.

"Where's Trevor?" he asked frantically, checking his pockets.

Kira's eyes widened and she quickly checked Moxie's cage. Moxie meowed innocently. No Trevor.

Neville was patting at shirt as if to locate the toad. He patted his shirt pocket and visibly relaxed. He reached in the pocket and pulled out a belching Trevor.

Kira laughed, "honestly, Neville! Can't you keep track of a toad?"

Neville grinned.

"For a second there, I thought Moxie had eaten him!" he said.

There came a knock at the door. Neville told whoever it was to come in and a friendly, plump woman appeared in the doorway.

"Anyone for some treats?" she asked kindly.

On the small cart she was pushing was a vast assortment of snacks and candy.

"My word, Neville. I don't know what to choose!"

Neville pointed out which tasted the best and the pair soon sat alone in their compartment once again, devouring their purchases. Kira thought briefly of the lumpy sandwich is mother had given her, but quickly decided against eating it. It probably stunk.

"Careful with those Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Some of them taste awful," Neville warned his friend.

A familiar face appeared in the window and a muffled Scottish voice called, "I found them!"

Seamus Finnegan's smiling face emerged inside the compartment, followed by his friend, Dean.

"We've been looking all over for ye, mate," Seamus said, addressing Neville. He turned to Kira, "and you too, Kira. How was the rest of your summer?"

Kira's cheek turned a bit pink when Seamus sat down next to her. Dean took the seat across from her, next to Neville.

"It was good…" she murmured dumbly.

"We almost missed the train though," Neville said.

"Ha, that would've been mighty funny if ye had, mate," Seamus laughed, "but I'm sure glad ye didn't," he said, eyeing Kira.

"Hey, since you're new this year, will you be sorted with the first years?" asked Dean.

"Uh, I'm not sure," Kira replied, still aware of Seamus' eyes on her. She was somewhat thankful that she wore a flattering rose sweater, which contrasted perfectly with her blonde locks.

"So ye mates want to get a carriage together when we reach Hogwarts?" Seamus suggested.

Kira looked at Neville questioningly.

"Sure," Neville answered, sending Kira an I'll-explain-later look.

Dean turned to Neville and asked something about Quidditch, while Seamus turned to Kira.

"So tell me a little about yourself, Kira," Seamus offered, eyes shining.

Kira laughed awkwardly.

"Not much to tell, I suppose… I'm excited for Hogwarts though. I didn't much like my old school in… er… New Zealand."

"Yeah, it's a pretty fab place," answered Seamus, "so where exactly did ye live in New Zealand? Had an aunt once who lived down there for a bit."

Kira's mind raced.

'_Out of all my new knowledge, I don't know a single thing about New Zealand?!_'

"Er…" she started intelligently, "I lived near…" she heard Trevor burp inside Neville's clenched fist, "I lived near Trev--en. Yes, Treven. Treven, New Zealand."

Seamus raised an eyebrow.

"Haven't heard much about Treven, I must say. Oh well, didn't know much about it anyway."

A girl Kira recognized as Parvati Patil opened their compartment door.

"Dean! Seamus! I've been looking all over for you two. Dean, they need to speak to you about prefect duties in the forward compartment. Hurry up!"

As Seamus and Dean stood to leave, Kira noticed for the first time the glistening badge on Dean's shirt. It read, "Prefect" in curvy print.

"I'll see you later, mates," Seamus called from the doorway. He grinned at Kira and disappeared from view.

Neville started to laugh, "looks like Seamus has got something for you."

Kira blushed and quickly changed the subject, "oh, and if anyone asks, I'm from _Treven_, New Zealand now."

Neville kept laughing.

"Treven?! Ha, of all the names you could've made up, Kira…"

Kira smiled.

"Shall I let Moxie out, do you think?" she asked.

"Sure, I don't think she'll run off, do you?"

Kira unlatched Moxie's cage and the feline strolled out indolently. Kira scratched behind her ears and Moxie began to purr.

Suddenly the door opened once again. An extremely tall, lanky young man walked in and said, "finally, Neville. We've been looking all over for you."

Kira noticed the boy's flaming red hair and stared. Then the young man's eyes met hers.

"And whose this, Neville?" asked the boy.

"Oh, this is Kira Sanden. She's new this year," Neville explained, "Kira, this is Ron. Ron Weasley."

Ron grinned cordially and held out his hand. Kira shook it and Ron called over his shoulder into the hall.

"Hey mates! Neville's in here!"

Kira heard voices in the hall as she dropped Ron's hand. Two figures appeared in the doorway. The first, and shortest, was a girl about Kira's age with big, bushy brown hair. She smiled at Kira and Neville with two large front teeth.

Kira's purple eyes traveled to the second, taller figure entering their compartment. He had messy black hair with bright emerald eyes.

Emerald eyes?

'_Bloody hell…_'

Harry Potter attended Hogwarts.

A/N: Cliff hangers are so fun, are they not? LOL!

Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner, but I'm not making any promises. Sorry!

Read and Review!!! PLEEEAAAASE!!!


	12. Unexpected Train Ride

DISCLAIMER: NOTHING BELONGS TO ME… 'cept Kira I s'pose…

A/N: Okay guys, here's the next chapter! Hope its not too corny! (Had a tough time with the "non-corny" factor…)

New Neighbor

Chapter 12

Kira stared, her mouth hanging open in shock. Harry gaped back; his glasses, which already perched precariously on his nose, slid down even further.

Ron, oblivious, said, "'Mione, Harry, this is Kira, she's new this year, a friend of Neville's."

"'Mione" held out her hand to Kira warmly, but Kira didn't notice.

"Uh, I'm Hermione Granger," she said, confusedly observing the blonde girl.

"Bloody hell, Harry. What's gotten into you?" Ron asked his gawking friend, as he grabbed a chocolate frog from Neville's pile of sweets. He took a seat next to Neville. Hermione sat down beside Kira, and seemed a bit perturbed at the fact that Kira didn't respond to her friendly greeting.

"Kira?" asked Neville, eyeing her.

Kira seemed to realize that her mouth was hanging open and shut it quickly.

"You--" she started, but then stopped.

"What in bloody hell are you doing here?" Harry asked, still in complete and utter shock.

"Blimey, Harry. It's not like you've met her before," Ron said, enthralled by the fact he had found a "Meriadoc Loffingwore" card in his chocolate frog package.

"Harry, what is wrong with you?" asked Hermione, concerned.

Neville nudged Kira and she turned her gaze toward him. He stared at her for a moment, brow furrowed, trying to figure out what was wrong.

Suddenly with another look at Harry he put two and two together.

"Oh!" he cried and jumped up. He grabbed Harry's arm as fast as he could and pulled him into the hall with a yank.

XXXXXXXXXX

Outside in the hall with Harry, Neville was in a panic. Harry and Kira _knew_ each other?! How was that _possible_?!

"Harry! Tell me!" he said urgently.

Harry seemed a bit loopy at the moment but replied nonetheless with, "she's my neighbor, Neville!"

Neville stared at Harry while Harry ogled off into space, still astonished with the turn of events.

'_His _neighbor_?! Good grief! How come she never told me?!_' he wondered frantically, trying to piece together a plan in his mind, '_well, I suppose I never really told her about Harry… and she never brought it up either…_'

Neville furrowed his brow and boldly grabbed Harry by the shoulders.

"Harry! Listen!" he whispered loudly up into the taller boy's face, "you cannot tell anyone! Everyone here thinks she's from New Zealand!"

Harry looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"What?! New Zealand?! She lives by _me_, Neville!"

"I'll explain later, Harry! But for now, _you don't know her_."

Harry stared him and looked away.

"Blimey," he whispered.

XXXXXXXXXX

'_Harry?! HARRY?!_'

Kira's mind was spinning as Ron and Hermione tried to make conversation with her. Neville had left with Harry, and Kira remained in a state of shock. She nodded distantly along with the conversation Ron was having with her, though she couldn't recall what he was saying.

'_How in the world can he be here? Wouldn't he have known if I was a witch? Couldn't he have done some… witchy-finder thing???_' Kira's thought ran through her heard incoherently.

The compartment door opened. Neville led Harry in, though Harry still looked a bit abnormal.

Hermione, a bit huffy at the moment due to Kira's lack of response, said, "Harry, Neville, what is wrong with you two?"

"Nothing, Hermione… just had to talk to Harry for a second, that's all," Neville answered casually.

Hermione furrowed her brow and addressed Neville again, "so would you mind terribly introducing me to your friend? She seems… tongue-tied."

Kira shut her mouth quickly and stared pointedly at Neville, trying to get across to him that she had absolutely no solution to the current situation. Neville shrugged in return. Kira cast a quickly glance in Harry's direction and saw him staring fixedly out the window even though Ron was trying to show off his Meriadoc Loffingwore card.

"Excuse me, I need to go," Kira mumbled and stood to leave. She left the compartment quickly, but Neville soon caught up with her in the train corridor.

"Kira! You mustn't act out of the ordinary! Pretend like nothing's happened!" he whispered urgently.

"Are you insane!" Kira cried, a bit too loudly, "Neville! You have no _idea _what went on between us! It's not like we were buddies the entire time!"

Neville quirked his eyebrow at her questioningly.

"So? Honestly, Kira. You can't make a big row over something no one else bloody knows about! Ignore him for now, we'll figure it out later, alright?"

Kira bit her lip.

"Alright," she mumbled quietly, "I'll be in there in a second."

Neville went back inside the compartment.

Harry was here. _Harry was here_.

'_Does this mean we'll pick up where we left off?_'

'_No! He was rude! He led me on, didn't he?_'

'_But you still have feelings for him, don't you?_'

'_No! Why would I fancy anyone who doesn't fancy me back?! Clearly he's perfectly fine with his friends and school and…_'

Kira stared blankly over at the compartment door. Neville was right, she couldn't do anything more until she arrived at Hogwarts.

'_Go back into the compartment, Kira,_' she willed herself.

'_But how can I face him now?_'

'Don't_ face him, Kira! He's not worth it anyway._'

Kira quickly wiped her eyes and before her resolve could break, she reentered the compartment. Harry heard her come in and briefly glanced her way, but quickly turned his gaze back to Ron, who was discussing Quidditch. Kira swallowed and sat next to Hermione once again.

"So Kira," offered Hermione tentatively, hoping for an actual intelligible conversation with the new girl, "Neville tells me your from New Zealand, what part?"

Harry stopped mid-sentence, as if listening for Kira's response.

"Uh…" began Kira nervously, "I lived in… Treven. It's a small town. Really small."

"Hmm, I can say that I've studied New Zealand extensively, though I can't say I've heard of Treven," Hermione shrugged her shoulders, "oh well, it must be very small. I'll have to research it."

Kira looked at Neville tensely out of the corner of her eye. He looked just as anxious.

Ron, giving up on Harry as he was once again staring out the window, asked, "so did you like it there, mate?"

"Yes, I suppose so. It was very… nice."

Suddenly the compartment door opened and a pretty red head entered.

"Ginny, what do you want?" asked Ron, rolling his eyes, "doesn't Ernie need you off in his compartment right now?"

"Oh, honestly Ron, Ginny is sixteen, well past the age for you to stop bothering her about who she goes with," Hermione chided. Ron seemed to begin to pout.

Ginny laughed in her brother's direction and turned to Hermione.

"Just wanted to tell you that we're going to be at Hogwarts soon. You better get changed."

"Okay, thanks Ginny," said Hermione, "and by the way, this is Kira Sanden. She's new this year."

Ginny smiled genially at Kira and said, "that's great! It's not every day we get someone new. You'll love it here."

Kira grinned at the young red head, liking her jumpy personality.

"Thanks," said Kira.

Ginny left, and Hermione took charge.

"Okay boys, out," she said, pointing towards to door.

"Huh?" burbled Ron.

"We've got to change into our school uniforms, Ron. Honestly, it's not rocket science. Now out!"

Ron rolled his eyes and followed Harry and Neville out of the compartment.

"Really, all boys are the same," Hermione snorted in annoyance.

Kira chuckled but inwardly was worried.

'_So Harry was using me? No, that couldn't be…_'

A soft meow pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Moxie! I'd totally forgotten I had let you out," she said, picking up her cat, "you were hiding under the seat, weren't you?"

"How utterly sweet! You didn't tell me you had a cat!" exclaimed Hermione, scratching the animal behind the ears, "I have one too!"

"Really?"

"Oh yes, he's a darling. Though for particular reason, some people don't seem to think so…"

XXXXXXXXXX

With a final jolt, the train came to a halt and students began filing out of their compartments.

"Leave your trunk and other baggage here, Kira," said Hermione as she opened the door to leave.

"But--"

"Don't worry, they'll take it to your dormitory."

"Who will?"

Hermione giggled, "never mind, just leave it. Now follow me. I'll show you where to go."

Latching Moxie's cage and setting it on the seat, Kira followed Hermione out into the corridor and onto the platform. A booming female voice shouted out from Kira's left, "first years! First years! Over here, please! First years!"

"Oh it will be a shame without Hagrid not being here this year," Hermione commented solemnly.

"Hagrid?" asked Kira, confused.

"I'll tell you later," Hermione said quickly. She grabbed Kira's hand and pulled her through the crowd.

"We're riding in the carriages. They're over here," said Hermione over her shoulder. Soon they arrived to an area with a long line of black carriages. Somebody put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. It was Seamus.

"We gonna get that carriage together, Kira?" he asked amiably.

"You two know each other?" asked Hermione.

"I met him at Diagon Alley over holiday," Kira explained.

Hermione nodded in understanding and turned as she heard someone calling her name.

Kira saw Ron yelling at Hermione to come get the carriage he'd found empty, and Hermione excused herself and went in that direction. Harry stood beside the carriage next to Ron, and as Seamus took Kira by the hand to lead her toward another carriage, she felt Harry's emerald stare.

"Did ye have a good ride?" asked Seamus.

"Yeah," answered Kira, trying to shove all thoughts of Harry out of her mind.

"Oh, here's the carriage," Seamus said, opening the door for her. As Kira entered, she saw that Neville, Dean, and Parvati were already squeezed into one seat. She sat down and soon so did Seamus. A few minutes later the carriage began to move.

"Our last year," said Parvati, trying to make conversation, "I can't believe it's finally here…" She gazed out the window somberly, "And after all that's happened."

Dean put his arm around her and nodded. Kira lifted an eyebrow. What in the world were they talking about?

She was about to voice her inquiry, but Neville said loudly, "So what classes do you think we'll have this year?"

Kira squinted at him suspiciously. Did he change the subject on purpose? Neville was avoiding her eyes but his cheeks had reddened.

As the group made conversation, Kira gazed out the window. In the distance was a large lake. In the fading light it was black as coal. Small rowboats were passing across it.

"Hey," Kira said, interrupting Dean, "what are those rowboats in the distance doing in the lake?"

"It's tradition. The first years always ride across the lake."

Kira nodded in understanding and turned back to the window. She saw a large field, and a dark forest. As she admired the beautiful scenery, the carriage joggled to a stop.

"We're here, mates," announced Seamus.

Seamus opened the carriage door and stepped out. He helped Kira out and soon the whole group stood out on a platform before an immaculate castle.

"Hogwarts," Kira breathed.

"Astounding, isn't it?" commented Seamus, "this way." He touched the small of her back to guide her toward the pair of wooden doors Kira guessed was the main entrance.

The castle was massive, and made out of stone. The towers loomed above her and the torches that illuminated the castle walls left Kira in awe. The wooden doors creaked open, allowing the students entrance. The entrance hall welcomed them with golden vaulted ceilings. Abruptly Kira felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see an older woman dressed in emerald green robes, with large, square spectacles and pursed lips.

"Miss Sanden, I am Professor McGonagall. Headmaster Dumbledore wishes to see you in his office."

"But Professor, Kira's new and wants to enjoy the feast--"

"I am perfectly aware of the circumstances regarding Miss Sanden, Master Finnegan, and I encourage you to move along. Miss Sanden will be attending the feast shortly."

Kira followed the professor through a side door off the front entrance hall. Leading her down a few corridors, McGonagall stopped in front of a large statue.

"Pinkle Pops," she murmured and the statue jumped aside to reveal a stairwell. Soon Kira found herself in a circular office, the ceiling covered in paintings. The occupants of the paintings began to whisper as she entered.

"How wonderful to see you, Kira," exclaimed Dumbledore from his desk, "welcome to Hogwarts."

Kira smiled at the old man, "I'm happy to finally be here, Professor."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he asked warmly, "and you've finished the assignments I provided for you?"

"Uh, yes, Professor. They're in my trunk--"

"I know, Kira. Of course you've finished them," the old man chuckled, "and I don't see why you should be kept from the beginning-of-year feast any longer, do you?"

"No, sir."

"Then run along, Kira. Go back the way you came. Professor McGonagall will escort you. And meanwhile, I have business to attend to."

Dumbledore snapped his fingers and disappeared.

"Well, Miss Sanden, let's proceed to the Great Hall," the older woman said curtly and turned to leave. Kira smiled to herself. She was finally here.

A/N: Yikes! What do you think? I hate it personally but that's just me… Ugh, I need I cookie.

****

IMPORTANT: (well, kinda) Do you guys want me to start doing "reviewer responses" after or before the chapter where I can answer your questions from your reviews? I've seen a lot of other fanfiction authors do it. So if you want me to also, just tell me in your review ok?

REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	13. Friendly Greetings, Mostly

A/N: YIPPEEE!!! Guess what guys!!! I have **100** reviews!!!!!! Oh my GOSH, I am ecstatic! Okay, not totally _ecstatic_, but that is so awesome! Lol, seriously, I never thought I'd make it to chapter thirteen! Your reviews keep me going, lol!

And by the way, since I was feeling oh-so-generous, I am updating this chapter a week early! I know, I know, I'm the best. Actually, I'm really surprised I finished this so early… It just kind of… poured onto the page.

Anyhoo, thanx SO MUCH for your reviews everyone! You're the greatest!

New Neighbor

Chapter 13

Harry entered the Great Hall, following Ron and Hermione. The hall was exquisitely decorated in various colors. Candles adorned the stone walls, and chandeliers magically floated above them beneath the enchanted ceiling, which appeared identical to the night sky outside.

Despite the enchanting atmosphere, Harry's thoughts wandered elsewhere. Why didn't Kira talk to him at all? After the shock of it all, she could've pretended to introduce herself…

'_Wouldn't she be happy to see me? Or at least acknowledge me?_'

'Why would she acknowledge you? You blew her off!'

'No I didn't!'

'Yes, you did.'

'_That's beside the point. Whatever I _did_, I did it because I had to!_'

"Harry! C'mon, mate! We got to get us a seat!" Ron yelled. Harry rushed to catch up with him. He sat beside Hermione, while Ron sat across from him. They were quickly surrounded by many other Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws, all interested in talking with Harry.

"Harry! How was your summer Harry?!"

"What's it like Harry, being a hero?"

"I read in the _Quibbler_ about you and that veela girl! Is it true?"

"Harry, mate! You got He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named good, didn't you?!"

"Harry! Got any battle scars? Can I see 'em?"

"STUDENTS," a deafening voice thundered. All voices became silent, staring at their headmaster in surprise, whose eyes were twinkling dangerously, "please take your seats."

The noisy rustling of people shambling to an empty seat died down, and all heads turned to the headmaster.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed, grinning at the four long tables that were set before him.

"I believe that we have new faces to greet!" he declared and the doors to the Great Hall swung open. A line of nervous-looking first years followed Professor McGonagall single file into the room. McGonagall held in her hand the all-knowing Sorting Hat, which looked more battered then usual. With a wave of her wand, a tall stool appeared in front of the strict professor, as did a long strip of parchment. Then the Sorting Hat began to sing, and when it was done, the older woman began shouting out names, beginning with "Aadonvelt, Conrad," who was immediately sorted into Slytherin.

As each first year nervously shuffled up to the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on their head, the friends around Harry began to converse.

"I heard there's a new girl in our year!" whispered Violet Romero, a friend of Parvati's, "is it true, Neville?"

"Yeah, it is. She moves here from New Zealand… I think," Neville muttered.

"And she's wicked hott with that blonde hair," whispered Seamus, "wouldn't you agree mate? Have you seen her?" he asked, nudging Harry.

"Er, yeah, sure. I've seen her," Harry murmured softly, feeling an odd feeling bubble up inside him. Was it resentment?

Once the last first year, Dania Zen, was sorted into Ravenclaw, Dumbledore stood up.

"I also shall gleefully inform you, that we have one more new student at Hogwarts this year, that is not, in fact, a first year."

Whispers began again, but Dumbledore continued evenly.

"Students and staff, I would like you welcome," the doors to the Great Hall opened, "Miss Kira Sanden."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Now wait here, I must introduce the first years. Dumbledore will bring you in afterwards," McGonagall told Kira.

"You mean I have to go in all alone?" asked Kira. But the professor was already gone, leading the first years, who moments before had been staring not so discreetly at Kira's hair and eyes.

Kira nervously wrung her hands. Harry was still a prominent thought inside her head, and she had no idea what to do. Yes, she could pretend she didn't know him for a while, but what about later?

'_And what if I get sorted into the same house as him?!_' she wondered frantically.

She could hear muffled cheers from inside the Great Hall. Would they cheer for her? Memories of her old school flashed through her head. Memories of pointing fingers and arrogant smirks.

Kira closed her eyes. No, it wouldn't be like that. This was where she belonged. She was a witch, from Treven, New Zealand. Kira giggled… Treven?

Suddenly the cheering ceased and she heard a loud, yet muffled voice speaking. Suddenly the doors creaked open, and she heard Dumbledore proclaim, "I would like to welcome Miss Kira Sanden."

Every pair of eyes turned to her, and Kira shrank under the stare.

'_Oh no… wait, what do I do? Walk, Kira!_'

She walked into the hall, her purple eyes darting from person to person. Suddenly she saw a large group, some of whom she recognized, begin to clap. Others followed suit, and soon almost everyone was welcoming Kira with their cheers and whoops. Although she felt people staring at her eyes and shocking blonde hair, it wasn't nearly as bad as she'd predicted.

"Miss Sanden," called Professor McGonagall from the front of the room, "come here please."

She motioned to a stool right next to her, and Kira sat down, facing the large crowd, whose cheer had died down to whispers. She looked up at McGonagall just as the professor place a large, shabby hat on her head. Then, Kira heard a voice.

'Well, Miss… Sanden, is it now?'

'_Where is that coming from?_'

'Me, my dear. The Sorting Hat.'

'_Huh?_'

'Now, where shall I put you, Kira…'

'_Where?_'

The voice, or hat, chuckled, 'I see some interesting things here, Kira. You're timid, yet bold. You're smart, if not artificially, and you're courageous in a way also. But I see the family ties as well… Hmm… That surely is contradicting, isn't it?'

'_What?_'

'Where to put you… where to put you… Oh, I suppose we can find a median between all this… yes, I'm sure we can.'

'_Wait! What do you mean--_'

"GRYFFINDOR" the hat shouted, making Kira cringe at the immense volume. The hat was immediately pulled off her head, and Kira saw that one of the four tables in front of her had erupted in cheers. She saw Neville cheering amongst them, and walked over and sat beside him, thankful to see a familiar face.

"Welcome to Gryffindor, Kira!" said Ginny from across the table. Kira smiled.

"Welcome to Gryffindor," said a few others. Kira politely nodded to them and was about to introduce herself personally, but Dumbledore stood up again, commanding their attention. But while he talked about not going in a forest or something like that, Kira couldn't help herself from examining the faces around her. Seamus, who was sitting beside Ginny, winked at her as they made eye contact. Kira blushed and quickly looked away. There was… what was his name? Ron? Yes, Ron, who was sitting next to--

Kira couldn't believe her eyes, it was Harry!

'Oh gosh, he's in Gryffindor too? Just my luck, now isn't it?' Kira thought to herself angrily. Thankfully Harry wasn't looking at her, he was staring pointedly at Dumbledore, as if hanging on his every word. Kira glanced up. Dumbledore was staring at her!

'_Blimey, Kira. Your first day and you aren't even listening to the Headmaster!_'

XXXXXXXXXX

"The staff and I are very excited…" Dumbledore spoke his usual welcome speech, for which Harry was thankful. He hadn't wanted Dumbledore to change the speech on his behalf, because of the war and all those cursed matters

'_So, Kira is in Gryffindor too. Just my luck._'

'_You'll have to face her sooner or later, you know. After what you did to her._'

'_I didn't do anything, for the last time!_'

Harry turned his attention to the Headmaster.

"And furthermore, as we all well know, a certain weight has been lifted from the shoulders of the wizarding world. This weight being, Voldemort."

Eyes widened and whispers spread like wildfire throughout the students and many eyes turned to Harry. Harry stared hard at his empty plate. Fortunately, Dumbledore continued quickly.

"And I regret that there are a few faces that we will no longer see due to recent events. However, our world is no doubt a better place as a result of many hardworking individuals."

'_Don't mention my name, don't mention my name, _please_ don't mention my name_," Harry pleaded inside his head. Lucky for him, Dumbledore didn't.

"Therefore, I expect this year will be a new beginning for Hogwarts, and I am thoroughly excited to see what this year has in store," he finished. The students and staff began to clap, but the old man silenced them with his hand.

"Pish posh," he declared, "I'd say it's time to eat, not to applaud an old crank such as myself." Dumbledore chuckled to himself and with a wave of his hand, mountains of food appeared before the students.

"Finally," Ron said, grabbing three chicken legs at one time, "I'm starved."

XXXXXXXXXX

As the food appeared in front of her, Kira realized how hungry she actually was.

"Tfwy dah--"

Kira giggled, "Neville, swallow!"

"Try the sandwiches… delicious," he told her, grabbing three more.

Kira took a sandwich.

"What is there to drink, Ginny?" Kira asked the red-headed girl opposite her.

"Butterbeer, of course!" Ginny exclaimed, pouring the new girl a glass.

Kira took a sip and suddenly felt oddly warm throughout her body, right down to her toes. However, the warm feeling didn't last long. Kira unexpectedly felt an odd tingling, as if an icy liquid was being poured all through her insides. She looked up and beyond Ginny's head, she met a blank, yet cold stare. It was a young man, across the hall, with gray eyes and platinum blonde hair.

'_Platinum blonde hair? The boy from the street!_'

The lad smirked when he saw the recognition in her eyes. She frowned at him, trying to read his eyes. They were expressionless as could be.

'_What's his problem?!_' Kira wondered angrily.

"Kira?" asked Ginny, turning to see at whom she was glaring, "What are you looking at?"

"Oh! Uh, nothing Ginny. Must've drifted off for a second," she chuckled casually.

Ginny laughed good-naturedly and turned to a blonde boy beside her. Kira looked back at the platinum haired boy. What did Neville say his name was? Malfoy? He was talking nonchalantly with a friend right beside him. Kira furrowed her brow.

"So," said a voice from across the table, "You're Kira?" Kira nodded.

"I'm Colin, Colin Creevey." Kira smiled but studied the boy. He appeared younger than her, and looked very boyish and eager. However, there was a peculiar glint in his eye. He looked a bit… sad?

"Hello, Colin," Kira responded politely.

Colin opened his mouth to say more, but suddenly the Headmaster stood up.

"What a wonderful meal, wouldn't you say?" he asked merrily. There were a few cheers, as well as contented belches from the student body.

"I agree," Dumbledore stated, patting his stomach. As his eyes twinkled, he told the crowd, "but before I dismiss you for some shut-eye, as some might call it. We have one last announcement. A few individuals have informed me that we have yet to name the Head Boy and Girl."

Kira saw, out of the corner of her eye, that Hermione Granger tensed as he spoke the words.

"So, without further ado, I shall tell you who they are." Dumbledore observed the students, as if stalling for effect.

"First of all, the Head Boy!" A few cheers rang out.

"The Head Boy for this year will be… Justin Finch-Fetchley!" The entire Hufflepuff table stood up to cheer for a young man sitting in the middle of the table. Kira presumed he was Head Boy. He sat there proudly, enjoying the appreciation.

"And also, the Head Girl. The Head girl is…" the Headmaster's eyes glittered behind his half-moon glasses, "Hermione Granger!"

This announcement had a similar affect of the Griffindors, though Hermione seemed more shocked than excited. As everyone cheered for her, her cheeks turned pink.

"Furthermore, I say now is a good time to get to our Common Rooms. Prefects! You will lead the first years to their dormitories, as always. Remember, classes start on Monday!" Grumbles were heard amongst the students.

"Goodnight everyone!" he called, as the group stood to the leave.

Kira followed Neville through a network of corridors and to Kira's surprise, moving stairwells. They finally stopped in front of a large portrait of an extremely large woman in a bright red dress.

"Password?" she asked, lips pursed.

Neville bit his lip.

"Uh… I forgot," he told Kira sheepishly.

"Well then how do we get in--" Kira felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I know it," Seamus said proudly and murmured, "Adamo Leo." The portrait swung open.

"Thanks Seamus," said Neville.

"Any time, mate," Seamus said, still looking at Kira. She avoided his eyes.

They entered the common room, and Kira stared in delight. The walls were ornamented in red and gold tapestries. Armchairs, couches, and tables were found throughout the large room. A glowing fireplace was at the center of the room, with a stairwell on each side.

"The boys dormitories and up that way," Neville said, pointing to the staircase on the left, "the girls' is on the right."

"Alright," Kira replied. She was just about to ask whom exactly she'd be rooming with but then she spotted Hermione, Ron, and Harry enter the common room. Ron and Harry were talking animatedly to Hermione, who appeared very happy indeed.

"Kira," Hermione called, "do you know who you'll be rooming with?"

Kira shook her head.

"Great! Then you can room with me! There's an empty bed in my dormitory, from last year."

Kira smiled at Hermione gratefully and followed her up the stairwell. Hermione bid goodbye to Harry and Ron over her shoulder. Kira glanced back as well, and saw Ron say goodbye back to his bushy haired friend, but Harry said nothing. He turned to Ron, just as a flock of young girls and boys ran up to him. Then Kira could see him no more, and trailed Hermione up the stairs.

"Right here," Hermione said, opening the first door on the left. Inside were two sets of bunk beds, each with crimson and gold coverlets. There were two windows at the end of the room, out which Kira could see and large stadium in the distance.

"Oh this is absolutely wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed. Kira spun around and saw that Hermione was ecstatic over a large velvet emblem embroidered into her comforter. It red "Head Girl." On top of her pillow lay a glistening badge which also read "Head Girl."

"Isn't it astonishing?" she asked in disbelief, "I'd never dreamt that I would be named Head Girl!"

Kira doubted that statement but smiled encouragingly. She saw her bag and a meowing cage on the top bunk of the bed across from Hermione.

"Moxie!" she called. She received an annoyed meow in return.

"I had better let her out," Kira mumbled, reaching up and unlatching the cage door.

"Oh yes, Crookshanks will want out as well," said Hermione. She stretched to unlatch the box that appeared to be shaking. Kira quirked her brow.

As soon as the door was open, a reddish blur zipped out of the box at lightening speed. The blur ran under Hermione bed, hissing and spitting.

"He gets a bit nervous around new people, that's all," Hermione explained casually.

"Uh, I'm sure," said Kira nervously, scooping up Moxie protectively. At that moment the door opened and two girls entered, chatting energetically. They stopped talking when they saw Hermione however, who narrowed her eyes. Kira recognized one of the girls as Parvati, the friend of Dean Thomas.

"Kira, you're rooming with us?" she asked cheerily. Kira nodded and Parvati squealed.

"Great! This will be so much fun! This is Lavender, by the way" she said, motioning towards her friend, who was squinting at Kira's eyes.

Kira murmured a hello. Hermione spoke up again.

"So Kira, you want to go downstairs?"

"Uh, sure," replied the blonde girl, "nice meeting you," she told Lavender.

"Honestly!" Hermione exclaimed once they had exited the room, "those two are both gossip queens! I can't understand how they spread rumors so fast!"

Kira remained silent, but Hermione didn't seem to notice.

When they reached the common room, Hermione said more to herself than Kira, "there's Ron and Neville, I wonder where Harry is?"

Kira nervously searched the room, hoping Harry wouldn't show, in which case she might have to chat with him.

A/N: Well, I don't really like the ending but oh well. There's more to come!

And about the reviewer responses… I haven't got much feedback on the offer, but I can see what some people have said. Personally, I know that it's really annoying to see that there's a big nice long chapter then see that half of it at the end are review responses. Soooo, I haven't really made a decision, so if you still have an opinion on whether or not I should respond to your review questions, tell me k? Thanx!

Kudos to my editor, Digladior124!

Review!


	14. Chess Champion No More!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot… And Kira!

A/N: At the end this time!

New Neighbor

Chapter 14

Kira's first week of Hogwarts had been fabulous, and she was ecstatic with wonder over all the new things she would get to learn over the course of a year. Almost all of her classes were with Neville, which she was very thankful for. Her teachers all seemed nice, though a few seemed very distant whenever they had to address her. Kira figured it was because of her abnormal appearance.

She especially enjoyed Charms, though Neville didn't seem to take pleasure in it, especially when his Gran called him up to model the correct use of a Vulticulus Charm, which is an easy, temporary way of altering your appearance. When a peculiarly long nose appeared on his face, Neville stomped back to his seat beside Kira bright red, even though the spell only lasted for a mere thirty seconds. His Gran didn't seem to notice his discomfort.

A particularly greasy teacher, Professor Snape, gave the impression that he didn't like Gryffindors very much. However, he seemed to favor Kira. When she raised her hand, he called on her, even though Hermione Granger's hand had been up much longer, waving like mad. The treatment she received got her a few dirty looks from a few Slytherins, but Kira was too thrilled about attending Hogwarts to care.

She liked Arithmacy and Defense Against the Dark Art the best, although many of her fellow Gryffindors seemed a bit cold towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and Kira wondered why. Professor Desdemona didn't seem all that bad. Sure, she ran into a desk when she tried to grab a book from the shelf, but someone couldn't help if they needed glasses, right? After class, she asked Hermione why everyone treated the professor the way they did. Hermione's answer seemed strained.

"Well, last years teacher, Professor Tonks, was severely-- injured, and can't teach anymore. Everyone rather favored her greatly…"

Kira was about to ask how she was injured, but Ron came up behind her to ask about the essay they had to write for Charms. Hermione's attention quickly shifted.

As for Harry, she'd been avoiding him, though he didn't seem to be making any effort to talk to her either. He always seemed to dart out of a room whenever a large group entered, especially when the group consisted of young, giggling girls. It pained Kira to see him evading her, but part of her was thankful. As long as he didn't want to chat, she didn't have to engage in a confrontation.

The homework was more than she was used to, but for the first time in her life, she couldn't wait to start her studies. Learning about simple and complex charms and spells, as well as strange exotic animals she'd never heard of before, fascinated her.

Now, on Friday night, as Kira battled competitively with Ron in a game of Wizard's Chess, she felt more content than she had in a long time.

"Your turn," Kira said smugly as her knight violently destroyed Ron's rook. Ron frowned, his brow deeply furrowed.

"Come now," Hermione complained condescendingly from the lounge chair where she was reading a book, "you two have been at it for an hour! Can't we simply call a truce?"

"Shh," Ron muttered irritably, "I have to concentrate."

Kira watched Hermione roll her eyes and resume her reading. As she waited for Ron to make his move, she observed the Gryffindor common room.

Neville was reluctantly working with Dean on a project for Potions. He'd complained for an hour about how unfair Professor Snape was, before finally sitting down grudgingly and doing the work. Kira turned to see Parvati and Lavender emerge from the girls' dormitories, whispering and giggling. She watched Parvati send Dean a suggestive wink as she exited the common room with her friend. Kira recently discovered the two were a couple, after they were found snogging in a closet by McGonagall and given detention.

Seamus was seated beside her on the couch, reading a magazine. For this Kira was thankful for, because if his attention wasn't drawn to the literature, it most likely would be on her. It wasn't that Kira disliked the attention she received from Seamus over the past week, it just made her feel a little uncomfortable. She wasn't used to getting attention from guys, but it was nice nonetheless. Seamus always seemed to be there to open the classroom door for her, and he often sat with her and Neville during meals. It was good to have someone to talk to, and he wasn't all that bad looking, either.

"Kira?"

The blonde turned to see Ron waiting expectantly, his eyes inscrutable.

Kira bit her lip, studying the chess board. After a moment's hesitation, she moved her queen to the right. Her purple eyes moved upwards to analyze Ron's expression. He frowned the faintest of frowns, and Kira smiled to herself.

"Looks like she's got you in a spot, mate," Seamus said, placing his magazine down on the coffee table. He flashed Kira a smile. She blushed in return and turned back to the game.

She heard footsteps and looked up to see someone descending the stairs of the boys dormitory. Upon further inspection, she saw it was none other than Harry.

His emerald orbs connected with hers, and she felt her blood quicken. She tore her gaze away and tried with all her might to focus on the chess game.

"Hello Harry, finally decided to join us?" said Hermione, setting her book down.

Harry didn't answer for a moment, then slowly approached the armchair next to Hermione and sat down. Kira didn't fail to notice that the chosen armchair was furthest from herself as possible.

"No need to check for any ruddy first years, Harry. They've all got class about now," Seamus said, studying Harry.

"Uh, yes I know."

Silence followed. Kira was dying to ask why he seemed to avoid not just her, but almost everyone. Was he frightened of crowds or something? Was he a recluse? Even though Kira wanted to voice her inquiries, she didn't dare speak to him, afraid of an uncomfortable confrontation. The reality of their past and their present circumstances was still too fresh. Kira wondered however, why everyone in the room, Neville, Hermione, Ron, and others accepted Harry's lack of social life. Maybe he'd always been like that and she had never noticed?

'_I'll have to ask Neville about it,_' she resolved.

An annoyed redhead drew her from her thoughts.

"Kira, it's your turn again. Not spacing out, are we?"

"No, no, Ron," Kira stuttered. She felt Harry's gaze, "I was just strategizing, I s'pose. Wondering how I'm going to whip your arse, that's all."

Ron seemed surprised at first, then grinned. Seamus laughed.

"Alright, then. Make your move already!" Ron replied in a challenging sort of way.

"You're one to talk, Ron. Honestly, you practically spend all day deciding how you'll make your move," Hermione chided. Ron rolled his eyes.

Kira bit her lip in concentration once again as she examined the chess board. The playing slat was covered with bits of rubble from the violent obliteration of certain chess pieces.

Suddenly her face lit up and she tried to hide her smile. With one move of her king, she announced, "checkmate!"

Ron's jaw dropped in horror.

"Alright, mate!" Seamus laughed, clapping his hands. Kira smirked at Ron, whose expression hadn't changed.

"But-- how did you-- what--"

Kira heard Hermione snicker from behind her book.

"No use chap," Seamus stated, "she got you." Then he snaked his arm around Kira's waist, still laughing. Kira stiffened and felt her cheeks grow hot. She glanced at Harry. He was staring at Seamus, his eyes unreadable.

"Uh, I've got to get a snack," Kira mumbled, wiggling away from Seamus.

"Huh? Right now?" asked Seamus, confused.

"Uh, yes. Right now. Uh, heh heh, didn't eat much at supper, you know…" Kira rubbed her stomach, imitating her hunger.

"Oh, well I'll come with," Seamus said, standing up.

"Oh, uh, no! That's quite alright. I know the way to the kitchens. Neville told me."

Seamus opened his mouth to protest but Kira quickly silenced him.

"No, you stay here. Uh, Ron needs a new chess opponent," she told him. He raised an eyebrow. He'd told her that he detested Wizard's chess only an hour earlier.

Avoiding everyone's quizzical stares, especially Neville's, Kira swiftly fled the common room.

'_Why did you do that, Kira?! He likes you!_' Kira scolded herself once she ran down a few corridors to evade confronting a fellow Gryffindor.

Kira didn't know why she reacted the way she did. She just-- did. Maybe it was because of the look on Harry's face. He was simply looking at Seamus! After all they'd been through, wouldn't it seem plausible that he would be looking at her, to see if she was comfortable with Seamus' advances?

'_You're ranting, so shut up. Why does Harry need to be "watching out" for you? You don't need a damn body guard!_'

Trying to keep thoughts of Harry from entering her mind, she struggled to focus on Seamus.

'_Yes, Seamus is good looking. He's certainly sweet, and genuine as well. So don't push him away!_'

Kira sighed as she continued down the empty corridor. Last time she checked, it was almost curfew, meaning she had better head back soon. Kira turned around and headed back the way she had come.

XXXXXXXXXX

As Seamus' arm encircled Kira's petite waist, Harry tightened his hold on the armchair. Jealousy shot through him like a rocket, and it took all his self-control not to leap across the room at Seamus.

He was immensely pleased when Kira pulled away from him and made an abrupt exit. He watched Seamus' disappointed expression when she left, and he immediately felt shame.

'_Seamus fancies her, and she doesn't belong to you. Lay off and let her be happy._'

'_But if she was happy, why did she leave Seamus like she did?_'

'_It doesn't matter. She's not yours!_'

'_But--_'

His best friend pulled him from his thoughts.

"Harry, are you going to play or not?" Ron asked, indicating the newly arranged chess board. Seamus had left the room.

"Uh, yeah. Sure, Ron," he answered, sliding into the seat Kira had previously occupied.

"You know, Harry," said Hermione as she dog-eared the page of the book she'd been reading and set it in her lap, "you can't stay cooped up in your dormitory forever."

"Yeah, Harry," Ron cut in, "despite how everyone reacts mate, you should try to return your life to normal."

"Normal?" Harry exclaimed, feeling his anger rise, "how can everything be 'normal?!' I would've thought you two, above most, would understand that my life isn't damn normal! Sirius is dead and the first and second years treat me like some bloody saint! It'll never be bloody normal!!"

Harry stood up and ignoring his friends stares, stormed out of the common room.

XXXXXXXXXX

'_Have I seen that statue before?_' Kira wondered and she turned another corner, '_surely I would've arrived back by now._'

Kira bit her lip and furrowed her brow, staring at a door to her left.

"Did I go through that one earlier?" she questioned allowed, "Ah well, another one couldn't hurt."

She twisted the knob and pushed. But instead of seeing the familiar moving stairwells, she found herself in a large, dome-shaped room. The walls were lined with glass cases, filled with golden and silver statues, large and small alike.

'_A trophy room?_'

She stepped towards the first glass container and studied the glittering figures within. The first object was a diamond shaped medal, engraved with the words, "Hal Viener, Potions Award, 1st place achievement."

Kira's eyes moved along the shelves, skimming over the names and awards. For some peculiar reason, her purple orbs rested on a large trophy, in the shape of a broom stick. The golden broom model was mounted on a small wooden block. Engraved on a metal plate were the words, "Tanya Chay, Quidditch Champion, Seeker, Slytherin."

"An old friend of the family, you know," said an frosty voice. Kira jumped and spun around.

Looming over her was the boy who pushed her onto the ground at Diagon Alley! He smirked at her, his pale eyes unreadable. Kira glared at him.

"Leave me alone!" she spat, turning towards the door.

"Oh come now, let's not be immature about this," he said casually.

Kira twirled around, fury apparent in her eyes.

"How dare you follow me around!"

"Follow you around?" he asked, putting his hands up as a gesture of innocence, "my dear, we merely happened to stumble into the trophy room at the same time. Where's the harm in that?"

Kira didn't answer. She just continued to glare.

"Well, since you're here, I should like to introduce myself. Draco Malfoy. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He held out his hand.

Hesitantly, Kira took it, but pulled away at once when she felt an icy sting. Draco smirked. She glared in return.

"And as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted my thoughts," he continued, motioning towards the shelves, "Tanya Chay was an old family friend."

"And why should I care?" Kira inquired suspiciously, studying him.

"Well, since you seemed so intent on staring at the trophy, I thought you might like to know."

Kira rolled her eyes. Draco didn't seem to notice.

"Of course, she wasn't Tanya Chay for long after my parents met her. She was married. And what was his name?" Draco rubbed his chin, "Ah yes. She married a man named Allan Venatici. Have you heard of him?" he asked, staring intently at Kira.

"Uh, no," Kira said immediately, wanting to leave. This Draco Malfoy frightened her. However, she felt somewhere in the back of her mind that she'd heard that name somewhere…

Draco didn't answer for a second, just watched her.

"Oh well, didn't expect you to. I never met the couple, you know. They died, in the most unfortunate of… accidents."

Kira didn't answer, for she had no clue of what he was trying to get at.

"Well, _Draco Malfoy_," she spat, "You can sit here and talk to yourself about Tanya what's-her-name all you like. But I, for one, am leaving. Goodbye." She turned and exited through the nearest door.

Draco didn't say anything, just stared at the trophy. Then he smirked, laughed quietly to himself, and said, "you'll understand soon, Kira Venatici. Very soon." Still smirking, he silently left the room.

A/N: YAY!!!!!!! I DID IT!!!!! Lol, not all on my own, but hey, it's FINALLY posted!!!

Oooo, and thank you thank you THANK YOU to all who responded to my "Author's Note" thing! I'm going to do Review Responses this time, but this won't be a regular thing!

Makotochi: Lol, well it seems almost everyone wants Kira and Harry to hook up RIGHT NOW, huh? That might come, hint hint, but I'm not giving away anything! Thanks so much for your review!

****

**AAuksharmony**: Omg! I have to tell you, that your review helped me out more than any of the others! Your ideas were awesome so thank you thank you thank you! I actually had planned to include things about Kira's birthparents, and I'm still working on it. There was some stuff about them in this chappy though, did you catch it? And EW no! Harry and Kira are not related! Lol, yes I can tell you that right now. That would add spice, but nope, I'm not going that way, hehe. Anyway, thank you SO much! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

****

**harry's marauder chick**: Well, I was going to email you for more suggestions, lol. But as you probably saw, your whole email address didn't show up on the review. Oh well. About the Ron and Hermione idea… Hmm, could work! Lol, guess you'll have to keep reading! Thanks again.

****

Stryder: You want Kira and Harry to hook up? Well, s'pose you'll have to wait and see huh? Lol, thanks for the review!

****

JeanMarie: Whoa, you scared me there for a sec. Dumbledore was hitting on you? Lol, I laughed when I read your review which of course caused everyone in the room to swarm around me to see what I was laughing at. Figures. Anyhow, about your pairing ideas. Hehe, sorry, not giving anything away at this point! Thanks bunches!

****

Hutti: Hmm, definitely a possibility… hint hint. Lol, thanks for the review!

****

Meg: Hey girl, how's it going? Lol, so you like the story? Well I FINALLY finished the chapter! Lol! And yes, I agree, it needs more conflicts. Well, if I can get Linz to communicate with the outside world more often, maybe that can happen! Hehe, miss u! Thanks for reading!

So anyway, I'm really grateful to all those who reviewed with some ideas. It really helped a lot. Kudos to my editor, Digladior0124!

I expect to have the next chapter up soon, because I have a loose idea of how it's going to go. But sorry, can't make any promises!

Thanks again! Please review!


	15. Multiple Midnight Chats

A/N: Thanx a lot to all who reviewed!

New Neighbor

Chapter 15

'_Damn it, Sirius, you were all I had left!_' Harry mentally screamed as he slammed the back of his head against the wall he was leaning against. Pain shot through his neck and shoulders but Harry felt some of his rage dissipate.

Yes, it had been over a year since Sirius' death. But to Harry it was still as fresh as the day his uncle was lost.

'_Sirius! You didn't tell me coming back here would be so hard!_'

'_He can't hear you, he's GONE for the millionth time!_'

'_Shut UP!_'

'_And he wasn't all you had left. Look around yourself, idiot! There are plenty of people who care for you, you're just too ruddy thick to figure that out!_'

'_I said, shut UP!_'

Still angry, Harry surrendered to his thoughts and leaned up against a statue.

'_Maybe there are people who care for me, but it's not like they would ever understand what it's like._'

'_You've never given them a chance to understand._'

'_They _can't_ understand. They weren't there._'

Harry shut his eyes, trying to block out the memories. So much evil, so many lives lost. If only he could've fulfilled the prophecy sooner…

Harry kept his eyes closed, afraid a tear might escape. Preventing any images from entering his mind, Harry sighed, exhausted. He'd better go, as it was past curfew and he owed Hermione and Ron an apology.

As he stood up, he heard a jarring noise, the sound of a door creaking open. Suspecting a teacher and not wanting to be caught, or for that matter, congratulated, he squeezed behind the statue he'd been leaning against.

"Stupid boy, that was not your place," a voice whispered. Harry frowned. It wasn't a voice he was familiar with. It was a feminine voice though, that was for sure. He peered out and saw two figures at the end of the corridor, one tall, one short.

"Don't be wandering around, and for goodness sakes don't talk to _her!_" the shorter one continued. Harry squinted, but couldn't decipher who the figures were. He made a mental note to clean his glasses the next time he had a chance.

"Nothing will come of it, I was merely making relations." Harry's eyes widened. Malfoy?

The shorter one sighed in exasperation.

"Still, I expect you to follow the… rules."

"As you wish," Malfoy drawled, turning to leave, "goodnight, then."

The short figure hushed him and watched him go. Then she looked around, as if checking to see if anyone had heard. Harry felt her gaze and squeezed as far as he could behind the statue.

The form turned away and pulled out her wand. She flicked it, and Harry wondered what spell she had cast. Opening a door, the short silhouette disappeared.

After a minute past, Harry inched out from behind the statue and headed back the way he'd come.

'_Strange,_' he thought, '_I wonder what Malfoy is doing this time._'

After Lucius Malfoy had been detained two years prior, Draco Malfoy seemed to disappear from the limelight. He was quieter, and didn't seem as arrogant or boastful as he had once been. However, Harry and his friends still suspected he'd done that as not to be discovered working with the forces of Voldemort. No one had ever been able to pin anything on him or the rest of his family, which Harry considered more than suspicious.

'_Should I tell Dumbledore?_' he wondered.

No, the war is over. What can Malfoy do? Plus, it's not as if Dumbledore would take him seriously anyway.

Disregarding Malfoy and whoever he'd been with lightly, Harry soon was able to reach the Gryffindor common room without being caught be a teacher.

As he entered, he saw that only one person remained. And when he saw Harry, Neville leaped up and ran to him.

"Harry, have you seen Kira?" he asked worriedly.

"No, I haven't."

"Oh gosh, Gran's gonna kill me if she's lost," he mumbled, scratching at his head.

"Er," Harry said intelligently, wanting to get off the subject, "she could already be in bed, you know."

"No, I haven't seen her since she left and I've been in the common room the entire time!"

Harry furrowed his brow, wondering about Kira. Nothing could've happened to her… right?

"Relax, Neville…" Harry said, trying to reassure himself.

Neville wrung his hands. A moment later, his expression changed to one of resolve.

"I've got to go look for her," Neville said determinately, and headed towards the door.

Harry watched him go, wondering if he should accompany him.

'_Calm down, Neville's not the klutz he used to be. Besides, she's not your responsibility._'

And with that resolution in his mind, Harry forced himself to go up the stairs to the Boys Dormitories, no matter how much it hurt him.

XXXXXXXXXX

'_Gah, Gran'll kill me!_' Neville thought worriedly as his small eyes searched the corridor. He'd been searching for half an hour, with no sign of his friend. But three corridors later, he heard something.

"Mmmph!"

"Hello?" inquired Neville, searching the hallway.

"Neville?" Kira's voice called. Neville looked to his left. In the middle of a stairwell stood Kira. Upon further inspection, Neville saw that her right foot had sunk into the step almost up to her knee.

"What happened?" asked Neville and he ascended the stairwell.

Kira frowned in annoyance, "a small, floating man came up right as I was heading back to Gryffindor Tower! He threatened to tell a teacher I was out so late, but I protested. So then he did this!" She motioned towards her sunken foot.

Neville tried to hide his smile.

"I'll bet it was Peeves, Kira. He's always trolling 'round these halls at night."

"Peeves?"

"A jokester who lives at Hogwarts. Likes to pull pranks on people, students and staff alike. He's done it to me plenty of times. Wish Dumbledore would just kick him out."

"Well, with all this new knowledge in this head of mine, I don't know a single charm to de-sink my leg!" the blonde exclaimed angrily.

"Hold on for a second," Neville said, thinking. His expression lightened, a solution had come to him.

"_Garlipilus_," he murmured, and a silver mist drifted from his wand. The mist, surrounded Kira's leg. Seconds later, Kira was standing normally, no longer attached to the floor.

"Thank you, Neville," giving him a quick hug, "let's go back now, alright?"

Neville nodded, proud that he'd been able to help.

They walked in silence down the corridors for a few minutes before they heard a bump followed by a meow.

"Mrs. Norris!" whispered Neville, terrified. He frantically looked around before he spotted a painting down the way.

"This way," he whispered frantically, pulling her towards the painting.

Kira, well aware of who Mrs. Norris was, obediently followed. He pulled out his wand and tapped at a green vase within the painting. He mumbled a few words and the painting dissolved, revealing a wide tunnel. They ran inside, but Neville, too preoccupied with escaping from Mrs. Norris and playing the "hero" in the current situation, stumbled on the ledge and fell forward, landing violently on the hard floor. He cried out but Kira had already placed a silencing charm on the now-present painting.

Neville sat up, holding onto his nose. Kira squatted beside him.

"Are you alright, Neville?" she asked anxiously.

Neville pulled his hand away and wiggled his nose about.

"Don't think it's broken," he mumbled, squinting down at his nose.

Kira giggled at his crossed eyes and stood. She helped him off the hard floor and asked, "how did you know to come in here?"

"Oh, um, you know Ron Weasley?"

Kira nodded.

"His older brothers, Fred and George once tried to pull and prank on McGonagall, but I actually walked into the trap instead," he flushed, "after my skin sprouted green fur, Fred and George apparently heard someone coming and yanked me into this tunnel."

He saw Kira stifle a laugh and he blushed again.

"Well how do we get back from here?"

"Uh, it's kind of long, but I think I know the way," said Neville, furrowing his brow, trying to remember.

Kira raised her eyebrow skeptically but followed him when he started down the tunnel.

XXXXXXXXXX

"They set your Gran's hat on fire?!" Kira exclaimed, clutching her stomach with laughter.

Neville grinned, "yeah, but they suffered Gran's wrath afterwards."

Kira smiled, "that is too funny."

They'd been walking for fifteen minutes, and Neville still insisted he knew the way. Kira decided to go with it.

After a few moments of silence, Kira asked, "Neville? What's up with Harry Potter?"

Kira watched him gulp out of the corner of her eye.

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"Oh, come now. I can't be the only one who notices that he is a total hermit!"

Neville didn't saw anything for a minute, just gulped a few times.

"Well, er, he's gone through a lot, Harry has."

"Like what?" persisted Kira, determined for answers.

"Uh, haven't your aunt and uncle told you about--"

"About _what_, Neville! Honestly, whatever it is, I think I can handle it. Tell me!" she insisted.

So Neville told her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"That's lunacy, Neville," Kira said breathlessly from the hard floor on which she sat. Neville was seated beside her, still uneasy, but not as uncomfortable as he had been at the beginning of their chat.

"I know…"

Kira put her head in her hands and sighed.

"He went through all that?"

"It's not as if he was the only one… But yes, he went through all that."

"Did-- did you go through any of that, Neville?" the blonde asked timidly. Neville tensed.

"Uh, yeah. Well, I-- I tried to help some. But a lot of people died anyway," he said with a twinge of anger, "a lot of people."

"But how can one man, like Volde--" Kira stopped because she saw Neville wince, "uh… how can one man like You-Know-Who be so powerful? His whole life seems like one of a dark fairytale or something."

"Fairytale?"

"Yes, fairytale… A false story."

"Yeah, they're kind of similar. But no doubt, it happened. At the price of…" Neville's voice faltered, "a lot."

Kira purposely overlooked the discrete sense of loss in his voice and continued, "why was Harry 'the one' who had to stand up to Vol-- I mean, You-Know-Who?"

"Nobody knows… I think. Harry found out some stuff in our 5th year. A prophecy, but I didn't hear it."

"Oh… Poor Harry," she murmured, "I never knew."

Neville didn't say anything for a moment. When he did, his tone was curious.

"Remember on the train? Harry told me you two knew each other before Hogwarts. Might I ask how?"

"No," the blonde answered all too quickly, "I mean, we were just neighbors."

"And?"

"There is no 'and'," Kira snapped, "we just knew each other, that's all. We saw each other around the neighborhood. Goodness, it's like you're… you're _suggesting_ something…"

"Is there anything to suggest?"

"No!" she replied. Neville didn't say anything.

"There isn't!" she continued, determined to convince him.

"I didn't say there was, Kira."

"So? You were _suggesting_ it."

Neville laughed.

"C'mon, we need to get back to Gryffindor tower," he stood and reached down to help her up, "and now that you know about the war and all, you've got something to sleep on."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Told you I'd get us back here," boasted Neville when they entered the empty common room. The fireplace was almost dark, glowing red sparks the only remnant of what had once burned brightly.

"Yes, but we wouldn't have gotten back anyhow if I hadn't remembered the password," Kira taunted. Neville flushed.

"Well, I'm off to bed," Kira said, turning towards the girl's dormitories.

"Kira?"

"Yes, Neville?"

"How are you going to explain to Seamus why you ran out on him tonight?"

Kira opened her mouth in protest, "I didn't run out on him--"

Neville raised an eyebrow and it was Kira's turn to flush.

"He really fancies you Kira, it's obvious. You _are_ going to make amends with him, aren't you?"

Kira giggled, her eyes twinkling in the dying light, "we'll have to wait and see, won't we?"

Neville rolled his eyes and climbed the left stairwell.

A/N: So here's chapter 15. And just to let you guys know, chapter 16 is well under way! Lol, I'm good aren't I?

Sorry if you guys thought this chapter was a bit boring, but the content was necessary.

As always, PLEASE REVIEW!


	16. Confrontation?

A/N: As a special treat, I finished this chapter earlier for you guys! After all, it _is_ Christmas! Enjoy!!

New Neighbor

Chapter 16

"Meroooooow."

Kira groggily blinked her eyes open. Round, lime green pupils stared back into her own. Kira jumped, causing her cat to jump back as well.

"Moxie," she mumbled, annoyed. Moxie meowed innocently. Kira turned her head towards the clock.

"It's only 6:50, Moxie," she whined, "and it's Sunday!"

Kira rolled over on her stomach and pulled the pillow over her head. Moxie returned her ignorant gesture by bounding onto the pillow, shutting of her owner's air supply.

"Mmmhgmghh!"

Kira sat up in bed and glared at the feline. Moxie rolled onto her stomach and began batting at the air. Though she tried to keep her infuriated face on, Kira couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth twitch.

"Oh, you're a sneak, you know that? Waking me up so early, how could you?" she said, patting Moxie's upturned belly. Moxie meowed.

Kira's eyes moved to the other occupants of the dormitory. Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender were all sound asleep. A trickle of drool was hanging from Lavender's open mouth, and Kira giggled.

"I won't be able to get back to sleep anyway, thanks to you," she frowned at her cat, "might as well get up."

Kira swung her legs over the side of the bed and started to stand. What she failed to realize, however, was an orange tail sticking out from under her bunk.

"REEEEOOOOOWWW!!!" Crookshanks screeched, darting around the room. He stopped running once he'd squeezed under Hermione's bed. Kira started to reach out and comfort him, but Crookshanks only hissed and spat. Kira sighed, grabbed some clothes, a sweater and jeans, and left for the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Kira emerged from her shower dressed and ready. With her wand, she quickly dried her honey blonde locks using a spell she'd found in a book that she had "borrowed" from Parvati's bookshelf.

After feeding Moxie she left the dormitory. In the Great Hall, very few students were there, mostly Ravenclaws. Glancing over at the Gryffindor table, she saw that Ginny was already eating.

"Morning Ginny," Kira said as she sat across from the red head.

"Morning," Ginny replied, looking up from her toast.

"Why are you up so early?" Kira asked.

"Might I ask the same to you?" Ginny laughed, "I have to get together with my partner for Divination. I'm partnered with Ernie." Ginny grinned and bit into her toast. Kira raised her eyebrows and giggled.

"Not just studying then, right?" asked Kira. Ginny just smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

"My cat woke me up," Kira continued, "I couldn't get back to sleep."

Ginny nodded and turned when she heard her name being called. Ernie had entered the Great Hall with a few of his friends and was waving at Ginny. Ginny smiled and waved back.

A short while later, the Great Hall was louder with the sound of students. Ginny was engrossed in a conversation with Colin Creevey, so Kira decided to leave. She bid Colin and Ginny goodbye and headed towards the large doors. As she was leaving, Hermione, Ron, and Harry entered, talking animatedly. Kira stole a glance at Harry. He wasn't looking at her. Kira sighed and scolded herself for being distracted by him.

Reaching her dormitory and finding it empty, Kira sat down at Hermione's desk. She pulled out some parchment and a quill.

"Dear Mum and Dad," she wrote. Moxie jumped up onto her lap. Then she crafted a letter full of the "classes are going well" and the "teachers here are friendly" phrases. She told them about Neville and described the castle of Hogwarts itself as best she could. When she was finished, she sealed it in an envelope and slid it under her mattress. She'd ask Neville how to send it later.

"Yeah, last night was fun," a voice giggled as two people entered the room. Kira spun around in the chair, and Moxie leaped onto the floor.

"Oh! Hi Kira," Parvati said cheerfully.

"Hi," Kira murmured.

Lavender, the dried drool gone from her cheek Kira noticed, smiled a smile of unnaturally white teeth and asked, "finished with breakfast already?"

Kira nodded.

"So," Parvati said as she sat down on her bed. She leaned forward eagerly and grinned at Kira, "what's up with you and Seamus?"

The blunt question took Kira by surprise.

"Oh, uh, I'm not sure," she answered.

"Dean told me about Friday night. So you don't fancy him?"

Kira blushed.

"Um," she mumbled, "I'm not sure… yet."

Lavender and Parvati's excitement seemed to fade a bit but they still seemed ready to press Kira for any information they could get.

"I have to go," Kira said quickly, just as Lavender had opened her mouth to say something. The two girls frowned at her. Kira ignored them and grabbed a cloak from her bureau.

"See you later," she called as she left.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Harry saw Kira as he entered the Great Hall for breakfast, He didn't look at her, but he still wondered if she looked at him.

'_Blimey Harry, she's going to drive you mad if you carry on like this._'

Harry frowned to himself and followed Hermione and Ron to the Gryffindor table. He felt the stares from the students and staff but before they could rush over to chat with him, he had sat down in his seat, Hermione and Ron firmly on each side.

"Thanks," Harry murmured quietly.

"Anytime mate," Ron replied, reaching for the ham.

There was a rustle from above and Harry looked up. Owls had flown in, it was obviously time for mail. He searched the mass of owls. At last he saw a snowy white one, flying towards him. He smiled as Hedwig dropped an envelope in front of him.

"Thank you, Hedwig," he called. The owl hooted at him and flew off.

Harry grabbed the letter and flipped it over. It was addressed to him, from Kingsley Shacklebolt? Harry shoved the letter under the table and glanced from side to side. Hermione and Ron didn't seem to have seen it. Harry sighed. He was sick of this. Sick of the war. Sick of the Order. He slid the letter into his pocket and stood.

"I'll see you later," he mumbled to Ron and Hermione. Swiftly he left the Great Hall before anyone could notice his absence.

"_Accio _cloak," he called, flicking his wand. Moments later his black school coat came flying through the air and landed in his outstretched hand. Slipping it on, he exited the castle through the front doors.

Harry sighed as the cool, autumn wind whipped at his face. He found a path the led to the far end of the grounds, near Hagrid's hut. He looked in the window of his big friend's hut, but it was still empty. Last he'd heard of Hagrid he had left with Madame Maxime somewhere on business for the Order. Nobody had seen him since, but Dumbledore still insisted he was fine. Harry wasn't sure. He wasn't taking Care of Magical Creatures this year, and he missed his friend terribly.

Walking to the pond, he settled under a willow tree and pulled out the letter from Kingsley Shacklebolt. He glared at it. The war was over, the Order was no longer a leading organization. When it was reported that Voldemort had been defeated, Fudge had dismissed the Order as "no longer needed." Dumbledore had been a bit cross with his decision but agreed nonetheless. However, the members of the Order still considered themselves a union and took it upon themselves to tie up odds and ends of missing Deatheaters and wizards.

'_It's over, they don't need to be contacting me,_' Harry thought angrily. He pulled out his wand and muttered, "_Incendio_." A small fire started at the corner of the letter and soon enveloped the parchment. Harry threw it on the ground to avoid burning his fingers. He watched it glow and then slowly die to ashes. He smirked, satisfied.

"It was hard wasn't it?"

Harry jumped and turned around. There stood Kira, her purple eyes guarded. Harry stared at her for a second and then turned back to the lake.

"What do you mean?"

"The war, everything. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. You didn't do anything."

Kira didn't speak.

Harry glanced up at her, "you can sit down, you know. I mean, if you want."

Kira hesitated but sat down a few feet from him.

"I wish I could've helped, Harry. I feel like I've had a shield over my eyes all these years. I didn't know anything like that could happen. I didn't know anything like this existed. I was blind to what was going on," she said softly.

"Maybe you're the lucky one then."

Neither of them spoke. The only sound that could be heard was the distant sound of students talking and the gentle _slosh_ of the squid within the lake.

"Crazy, isn't?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"This. You and me. How we're both at Hogwarts."

"Yes, I suppose it is."

Harry chuckled.

"How did you meet Neville, anyway?" he asked.

"I met him while I was at my aunt and uncle's. He's their neighbor."

"Oh… Funny how people meet, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I've known Neville for a while. He's not the bumbling bloke he used to be. Really grown up. I've admired him at times."

Kira giggled, "oh, he's still a bit clumsy now and then."

Harry glanced at her and grinned, "I can only imagine."

She giggled and smiled back. He dropped his gaze and stared at his shoe.

"So, what do you think of Hogwarts?"

"Well, it's an improvement from my last school," answered Kira, a bit scornfully. She sighed, watching the castle in the distance, "I love it."

Harry nodded.

"Good," he said.

After a few minutes of silence, Harry looked a bit thoughtful, "any idea why Snape favors you so?"

"He doesn't favor me--"

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. Kira rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm not sure really. I mean, he isn't all that bad, is he?"

Harry scoffed, "not that bad! I don't care what Dumbledore says, I can't stand him."

"Why not?"

"I swear he's got a grudge against me. Something between he and my father. What he couldn't do to my dad, he does to me."

Kira raised an eyebrow, still not convinced. Harry didn't notice however, he was looking out at the lake. Kira sighed, letting the issue be.

"So how did you get here?" he asked.

"To Hogwarts?"

"Yeah."

"…On the train?"

"No, I mean, why are you here? How did they find out you were supposed to be a witch?"

"Well, I'm not really sure. I received a letter from the school over the summer, shortly after I met you. My aunt and uncle explained it to me, telling me my family heritage records had been lost."

"That's strange."

"I know, I suppose they simply didn't know I was supposed to be here."

Harry nodded and Kira continued hesitantly, "so how was the rest of your summer?"

"Oh, it was alright. Can't expect much from the Dursley's, you know."

Kira shivered at the memory of Harry's cousin, Dudley.

"I'm glad I was sent there over the summer though," he said tentatively.

Kira furrowed her brow, "why? I thought you hated the place."

"I do… But I'd rather be there than here."

"You hate the attention?"

Harry looked at her with an obvious expression.

"Is that why you keep all cooped up like you do?" she asked.

"I'm not 'cooped up'."

"Yes you are."

"Well, you would be too," Harry said angrily.

"You can't keep wallowing in the same things--"

"None of you people get it," Harry said bitterly, cutting her off, "none of you get what it was like. You don't get what it's like now. Not you, Hermione, Ron, anyone. So _please_ leave it alone! I live like I need to, and I don't need any of your sympathy or damn self-help advice!"

Kira stared at him, her face blank, but her eyes full of confusion, astonishment, and pity. Harry turned away and stared hard at the lake, his face stony.

After a few minutes of silence, the pair heard footsteps and a loud voice.

"Kira! I've been looking all over for you!" Seamus exclaimed, running up beside her. Kira blinked and turned towards him.

"Oh, hello Seamus."

"What are you two doing?" Seamus asked cheerfully.

"Um," Kira glanced at Harry who was still watching the lake, "we were just talking."

"Oh, well if Harry doesn't mind Kira, I've got something to show you!" he said excitedly.

"That's fine, Seamus," Kira said. She stood up and dusted off her pants.

"Great! I'll be seeing ye mate," Seamus said to Harry. He grabbed Kira's hand.

"C'mon," he said happily, dragging her off towards the castle.

Harry watched them go. And as he stood to go find Hermione and Ron, he felt jealously and shame creep through him like an unwanted disease.

A/N: Lol, another (kind of) depressing chapter. Oh well, some of it was good, wasn't it? At least they talked!

Wow, can you believe it? Almost 2005! Holy crap! I'm going on an awesome winter retreat over New Years, it's going to be a blast!

Happy New Years Everyone!


	17. Jealousy & Quidditch

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long… I had a bad case of writer's block forever and then WHOOSH one night it all flew out, lol.

**IMPORTANT:** As you might've already noticed, I've changed my pen name from sweetiepiepirate to squeakyfrappe. What do you think? Lol, sorry if there was any confusion.

Enjoy!

New Neighbor

Chapter 17

"Is this the Quidditch Pitch?" Kira asked as she starred up at the high columns of the building.

"Sure is," Seamus said, "c'mon, let's go inside."

They entered the pitch and Kira gazed across the large, empty field. Seamus pulled her over towards what looked like the storage shed in her aunt and uncle's back yard, only this one was a bit larger.

Excitedly, Seamus yanked the doors open. Inside were rows and rows of brooms, many looked identical, with worn-out handles and broken twigs.

"You wanted to show me these?" Kira asked skeptically, eyeing the old brooms.

"No, these are the school brooms. Over here," he continued. Past the school brooms were a few shelves of newer looking brooms, none of which looked alike. On the bottom shelf was a long, slender box.

"These are the personal brooms. They belong to the students," he explained, "look… me mum sent it this morning…" He grabbed the box and gingerly pulled the top off. Inside was a brand new racing broom, with the name, "Nimbus 3000" inscribed the handle.

"Oh, Seamus," Kira breathed, grazing her hand along the unscathed wood, "it's absolutely brilliant!"

Seamus grinned.

"Not as graceful as the Firebolt, but it gets the job done, eh?" He said this humbly but Kira saw the pride in his eyes. She laughed.

"Have you flown it yet?" she asked.

"Nah, I was waiting to show you!" he replied merrily.

Kira blushed, "well I've seen it, so have a go at it!"

Seamus smiled boyishly and tenderly pulled the broom from the box. Carefully he carried it out of the broom shed and walked through the hallway onto the field. Kira gawked at the sheer size of the stadium.

Seamus gracefully mounted the broom and took off. As he circled and whirled, Kira noticed that his skill was not as advanced as the players her Uncle Griffin had told her about, but Kira could tell Seamus enjoyed flying nonetheless.

"WOOOOO!" he cried, pulling the broom into a wobbly spiral upwards. When we was almost too far away to see, he waved wildly at Kira. She giggled and waved back.

He started to speed towards Kira, and just as Kira's eyes widened at the realization that he might hit her, Seamus pulled the broom the right and spun around her. Her blonde hair whipped violently as he sped passed. He reached out a grabbed her arm, causing her to spin around as he landed beside her.

Kira laughed at his windswept appearance. His smile extended from ear to ear as he shakily dismounted.

XXXXXXXXXX

Filled with curiosity and apprehension, as well subsided anger and shame, Harry quietly watched Kira and Seamus from the highest stand. Seamus was flying on his obviously new broom, which Harry didn't know the purpose of. Seamus' broom technique was nearing abysmal, he thought bitterly.

As he landed, Kira greeted him with warm laughter that echoed in the vacant stadium. Harry felt his blood begin to pulse violently. He turned his churning emerald eyes away from the two and silently left the stadium unseen.

Starring at the ground, Harry wandered in the direction of the castle.

'_You idiot, why'd you have to follow them anyway?_' mocked the annoying familiar voice.

'_I don't know!_' he bit back angrily.

'_You really are a prat, you know--_'

'_Bullocks! It's their bloody problem, not mine. No one understands!_'

'_Enough with the 'no one understands me' excuse! It's about time that you--_'

"Hi Harry, come from the quidditch pitch?"

Harry glanced up angrily. Neville's eyes widened at the obvious malice etched all over his face. Harry quickly wiped his face empty of any expression.

"Uh, yeah. I was just… making sure the tryout schedule was posted," he said, thinking quickly.

"Oh," Neville said, searching Harry's face. Harry averted his eyes.

"The Hufflepuffs probably have started practice about now," he told Neville, "so I didn't stay there long."

Neville nodded. His brown eyes flickered suspiciously.

"Ah well, I wasn't going to the pitch anyway," he mumbled.

"I think Kira's down there too, though… with Seamus" the raven-haired boy said, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice. Before Neville could say anything Harry moved passed him and headed towards the castle.

"Bye Neville," he called, exhausted from his afternoon. He continued towards the castle, determined to get back to his dormitory, the only place left where he was free to stumble through his thoughts without interruption.

XXXXXXXXXX

"That was wicked," Seamus said breathlessly, shaking his head as if to rid himself of the 'walking-on-air' feeling.

"Do ye want to try?" asked Seamus after a few moments. Kira's eyes widened.

"You'd let me?"

"Sure, as long as ye don't do anything too crazy," he laughed. Kira smiled in return.

Eagerly she took the broom from Seamus and mounted. She glanced at the sandy-haired young man. He continued to smile but his eyes told her that he was apprehensive and perhaps-- skeptical at her ability? Kira turned away and smirked to herself.

And she pushed off from the ground and immediately felt the same sense of freedom she'd experienced on her birth-mum's old broom.

Gently she swerved around in the air, enjoying the sensation. After a few minutes she heard Seamus yelling at her.

"Ye want to come back down now?" he asked anxiously.

Kira thought to herself for a few moments before yelling back, "no, I could stay up a bit longer…"

Kira grinned down at Seamus who returned with a strained smile.

'_He really doesn't like to share does he?_'

Suddenly Kira felt an overwhelming feeling to show Seamus all she could.

'_Let's show him all we've got, alright?_' she mentally told the broom. Smirking to herself, she willed the broom to reach its maximum speed with her mind and body movements. The broom sped up, racing towards the goalposts and the opposite end of the pitch.

As the broom went faster and faster, Kira smiled to herself. This broom was much faster and more agile than the _Airborne 202 _she'd ridden before. Seconds before she hit the center goalpost, Kira swerved the broom in an abrupt about turn and headed back towards Seamus at full speed.

Just before she hit him at a bursting momentum, she spun around him into a tight spiral. Kira was careful to make the spiral more compact than Seamus' had been. When he pulled out of the spiral she dove towards Seamus once again and landed a few feet from him. She heard Seamus exhale deeply.

"Uh-- that was some snazzy flying you had there," he said precariously, reaching towards the broom protectively. Kira giggled and handed it to him.

"That flying wasn't snazzy, it was damn near brilliant!" said an unfamiliar voice.

Seamus and Kira turned to see a pink-faced blonde with amusing ponytails on each side of her head. Behind her was a small group of people. They were all holding brooms and wearing yellow robes with the Hufflepuff crest of the right side.

"Hello Hannah," Seamus said politely. He spotted the stout form of Ernie Macmillan and walked over to chat.

"I'm Hannah Abbott," she blonde said, holding out her hand, "captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team."

"Oh, hello. I'm Kira Sanden," Kira said curiously, taking Hannah's hand, "so you thought my flying was good?"

"It was beyond good! With speed and nimbleness like that, you'd make a great Chaser. You've surely played quidditch before, no?"

"Oh, I've never played. I mean, I've flown before, but not in an actual quidditch game," she said somewhat sheepishly.

Hannah's mouth dropped open.

"Unbelievable! You're in Gryffindor right?"

Kira nodded.

"You should really think about trying out for their team on Wednesday. All the team tryouts are that day," she glanced back at her team, "only we got lucky. None of our players graduated last year so we still have a full team. Means we get extra practice time."

"Well, I haven't really thought about it--"

"Kira!" yelled a familiar voice. Kira twirled around to see Neville running towards her.

"Hey," he gasped once he'd reached her.

"Something wrong, Neville?" she asked.

"Oh, no," he mumbled, glancing at the Hufflepuff team as if he was searching for something, "I just couldn't find you though and Harry said you might be here."

"Oh," Kira said, smiling a little.

"So anyway, you should tryout," said Hannah impatiently, "don't tell anyone I said this, but I'm sure Harry would appreciate having you on the team."

Kira's next breath caught in her throat which sent her into a coughing fit.

"Harry plays quidditch?"

Hannah looked at her as if she was a bit dim-witted, "of _course_ Harry's on the team. Best Seeker there ever was. Now I have to get on with practice, see you later?"

"See you later," Kira said and the team moved away.

"Hey Kira!" Seamus called. Kira looked up at him.

"I'm going with Ernie, are you alright with Neville?"

"Yes," Kira said, almost irritably. Seamus didn't notice and walked away.

"Neville!" Kira said urgently to her friend who was still standing by her side.

"Yes?"

"Harry's on the quidditch team!"

"So?"

"Hannah just said I should tryout for the Gryffindor quidditch team on Wednesday. But I can't play if Harry's there!"

Neville raised an eyebrow, "why not?"

"Because--" Kira stopped and frowned at him, "it was just be… strange. I can't have fun on a team with him around."

Neville starred at her for a few moments.

"Does this have anything to do with your prior-- relationship?" he asked carefully.

"No!" Kira exclaimed quickly. Neville rolled his eyes.

"It's not as if he's the only other one of the team. There are seven on a team. You should tryout anyway," he said.

Kira sighed, thinking.

"I suppose I could… It doesn't hurt simply trying out does it?" Neville shook his head.

"Okay then. Let's go back to the castle. Classes start again tomorrow, you know."

The pair turned and left the pitch.

"Why were you looking for me anyway, Neville?"

"Uh, I just-- hadn't seen you in a while, I guess…" he muttered.

"I saw you an hour ago."

"Oh…"

"And why were you looking for someone of the Hufflepuff team?"

"I wasn't looking for anyone!"

"Oh, come off it. I saw you! Anyone in particular?"

Neville flushed and didn't say anything. Kira smiled and left him alone as they continued towards the castle.

XXXXXXXXXX

Harry lay on his bed, glaring at the ceiling. Absentmindedly he snacked on the pumpkin pasties he still had from when Mrs. Weasley gave them to him as he had boarded the Hogwarts Express.

TAP TAP TAP

"What is it now?" Harry grumbled irritably. He rolled over and saw Hedwig hovering outside the window. He stood and opened the window so the owl could enter. Attached to her foot was a small piece of parchment.

"Thank you, Hedwig," Harry muttered, handing her the last of his pumpkin pasty. The owl hooted in delight. Harry untied the letter and unrolled it. Inside was a familiar scrawl.

Harry,

If you don't already have plans, I'd like you to come to my office around 4 pm.

Dumbledore

Harry snickered coldly at the way Dumbledore had signed his name. Not the regular, "Headmaster", but he'd addressed Harry quite informally.

'_His way of showing me that he's my buddy. Fancy that._'

Harry glanced at the clock. 3:10 pm.

'_Maybe I will go meet the old coot. I still have time. Plus, I'm starving._'

He left his dormitory and tossed the short letter into the fireplace on his way out of the common room.

A/N: I s'pose this chapter goes out in thanks to **benwa**, who urged me to get on with Quidditch. Lol, here you go, **benwa**! Thanks!

I kiiiinnnnda have an idea for next chapter so it _should_ get started soon. I hope!

Please review!


	18. Making the Cut

A/N: There are some important notes at the bottom, _please_ read them!

New Neighbor

Chapter 18

"Pinkle Pops," Harry muttered sullenly. The statue leapt aside, revealing the all-too-familiar staircase.

As he entered the circular office, a large red bird flew in front of him and landed on a shelf near Harry's head.

"Hello Fawkes," said Harry.

"Harry, I'm so glad you were able to make it," a voice sounded from behind a tapestry. The crinkly old face of his headmaster emerged.. Eyes twinkling, he settled behind his desk.

Harry didn't say anything and made no motion to sit down in the chair opposite the headmaster.

Harry knew that Dumbledore noticed this but his cheerful expression never wavered, as usual.

"Lemon drop?" asked the old man, holding out a small tin filled with the yellow candies.

"Actually, professor," Harry began cynically, "I have some assignments to complete. So if you don't mind, I'd like to know why you invited me here."

To Harry's disgust, Dumbledore's eyes softened.

'_Why does everyone have to pity me!_' he internally screamed, clenching his fist behind his back.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Dumbledore finally spoke.

"So how are you doing, Harry?" he asked, leaning forward with his hands crossed.

"Are you blind?" Harry asked bitterly.

Dumbledore's expression remained unchanged.

"Because you'd have to be to not notice what a hell my life has become!" Harry continued, the volume of his voice rising.

"Every single bloody student stalking me like I'm some sort of- of- prize! The Daily Prophet has made no effort whatsoever to keep the bloody reporters and rumors at bay, and it's a pity party wherever I go, even with you!"

Dumbledore, his eyes flashing now, opened his mouth to speak but Harry rudely cut him off.

"Sirius is dead because of you, so leave me the bloody hell alone," the enraged student said softly. Harry turned and left the office.

The old headmaster let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. He'd known the process of Harry returning his life back to normal would be difficult, but Dumbledore hadn't expected it to be _quite_ so challenging.

KNOCK KNOCK

Dumbledore glanced up at the door. The knocking continued insistently.

"Come in," Dumbledore said monotonously.

McGonagall entered, followed by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody.

"Hello Minerva, Kingsley, Alastor," Dumbledore said, nodding at his male visitors.

"How can I help you, gentlemen?"

"Kingsley and Alastor have found something, Albus-"

Mad-Eye cut McGonagall off with his familiar growl, "it's about the girl, Albus. Figured we'd come to you before we went to the Ministry."

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled inquisitively. He turned to Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"This is true, no?"

Kingsley nodded.

"Minerva," he said, taking on an authoritative voice, "please notify the staff that I am leaving on business for the Ministry and will return tonight."

The female professor nodded obediently and turned to leave.

As she exited, Moody spoke up.

"We'd best hurry, Albus," he said firmly, his independent eye swirling impatiently.

Nodding curtly, Albus followed his two comrades, apprehensive of what he might uncover.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kira crammed the remains of her toast into her mouth, trying to ignore the butterflies going wild in her stomach.

"Are you sure I should do this?" she whispered to Neville as they entered the quidditch pitch.

Neville nodded. As the pair emerged they saw several people dressed in red quidditch robes. Numerous other students stood nervously in groups on the sidelines.

"Is everyone here planning to try out for the Gryffindor quidditch team?" asked a stout woman with a pointed nose and gray, spiked hair.

A dull mumble spread throughout the crowd. Kira could only guess that it meant they were here for tryouts.

"Very well," the gray-haired woman said, seemingly perturbed at the student's lack of response, "I'll leave it to you then, Harry."

She had turned to the tall boy in crimson quidditch robes standing beside her and it was only now that Kira realized whom it was. The blonde's facial features hardened in annoyance. Denying any feelings inside her, Kira watched him intensely. As Harry, who looked somewhat tense, cleared his throat to begin talking, whispers swelled within the groups of students, causing Harry to falter. Kira watched him take one more deep breath before finally speaking.

"We'll be looking for two chasers and a beater today. We'll have each of you go up in groups of three with us and we'll evaluate you from up in the air. If you want to see the expectations and guidelines of quidditch members, see Madam Hooch. Thank you."

Harry quickly walked off the stage to converse with the rest of the quidditch team. Amidst the group of red-robed players, Kira recognized Ginny, as well as her brother Ron, her old wizard chess partner. Kira giggled at the memory. The only player she didn't recognize was a brawny Asian boy.

"I got the broom," Neville puffed, who'd just run up from behind her. Kira hadn't realized he'd left to borrow Seamus' broom. It took a bit of persuasion on Kira's part, but Seamus had eventually caved. He seemed a bit disappointed he couldn't attend the quidditch tryouts, however, as he had a large assignment to complete.

"Thanks Neville," Kira replied anxiously, "I'm still not sure about this though-"

"If you don't mind, we'd like to get started," Ginny's voice boomed above the student's chatter.

"First, we'll take Enrique Pettinato, Jim Ward, and Lucille Elstad. Mount your brooms, please." Three younger students, probably third or fourth years, shakily stepped forward. As they shot into the air to join the rest of the quidditch team, Kira felt her stomach flop dangerously.

XXXXXXXXXX

'_Of all people, _she_ had to come to tryout!" _Harry thought angrily, stealing a glance at Kira, who was absorbed in a conversation with Neville. He furrowed his brow and looked back at the three eligible players, determined to pay attention. They'd gone through almost the entire crowd and they hadn't had much of a turnout. Catches were sloppy and flying technique was poor. Harry felt sorry for a second year, Rob Nazari, who was hit in the nose with the Quaffle after he missed the easiest throw in the world. He quickly left for the infirmary with a bloody nose.

Ten minutes later, Harry caught Ginny's eye. Her frustrated expression clearly explained her opinion of the potential players.

"Thank you, all brooms down now!" Harry yelled, seeing that the allotted time was up anyway. His command stopped the tryout immediately. As they landed on the field, Harry pulled his fellow team members off to the side.

"What do you think?" he asked warily.

"That fourth year, Nolan, wasn't that bad. Could work on his speed but he's got good coordination," Ron said as he wiped the sweat of his forehead.

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry answered.

"C'mon, let's get this over with. We only have three more," said Quang Pham, the Gryffindor beater. Quang had joined the team a year prior as a second year. And though he wouldn't ever measure up to the skill of the Weasley twins, he knew his way around the field and could hold his own.

Harry eyed the last three students, namely the stunning blonde in the center.

"Harry?" asked Ron. Harry blinked, not realizing he'd been starring.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." As he mounted his trusty Firebolt, a grin crossed his features.

'_I'm the captain here. Kira will never get on this team, I'll make sure of it,_' thought Harry as he shot up into the air.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kira flinched as the Quaffle flew past her head, the Quaffle she was supposed to have caught. The ball had raced past her head at such a speed that she'd felt her blonde hair shiver.

Kira glared at Harry, the one who threw the ball. That was the sixth time he'd made her look like an idiot. Unfortunately, his head was conveniently turned away so he didn't see her fierce glower.

The other two students who were trying out alongside her, Euan Abercrombie and Clayton Mastro, didn't seem to be doing too good in Kira's opinion. Euan was too nervous and Clayton had a problem with his hand-eye coordination. And since Clayton was trying out for position of a beater, that was not a good thing.

She turned to see Ron, who had just blocked a goal by Euan, hurl the Quaffle out towards Ginny. Seeing this as an opportunity, Kira gracefully sped forward to block the pass and therefore make an attempt at a goal. Seconds before her outstretched hands caught the red ball, a huge weight knocked into from the side which sent her spinning in a circles, hanging on to the broom for dear life.

After taking control of her broom, Kira circled to see what had whacked into her with a force that nearly crushed her in mid air. To her disgust, Harry was watching her, rubbing his elbow in mock pain. She watched a flash of guilt cross his emerald eyes before the customary hardened expression was restored.

Ron flew towards them, starring at Harry is disbelief.

"What'd you do that for, mate?" he inquired, wide-eyed.

Harry slowly pulled his gaze from the enraged blonde and rested it upon his best friend.

"Didn't mean to, mate. Sorry about that Kira, I was swerving so I wouldn't be clubbed by Clayton."

Kira didn't answer, just fumed in anger.

"And just so you know Kira, as captain of this team, I'm going to need a player who can succeed in offense. And as you've made no attempt to make a goal so far, I think it's clear to say that you will not be joining-"

Kira cut him off.

"Oh, the tryout isn't over yet, Harry. Five more minutes to go, see? I think it's safe to say that I still get another chance."

Harry frowned.

"Fine," he said curtly, his emerald orbs flashing defiantly. Ron watched him for a few moments before shrugging and returning to his place in front of the goal posts. With a last glance, Harry flew off.

'_Not on the team, my arse,_' thought Kira, '_we'll see whose the idiot._'

The whistle sounded, signaling the beginning of another play. The Quaffle was thrown, passed, caught, and stolen. Kira kept her attention on the Quaffle but watched Harry out of the corner of her eye. As expected, he was watching her.

In moments, Ginny had passed the Quaffle towards Clayton, but Kira thrust her broom forward to intercept it. She watched Harry dive towards her, a smirk on his face. From below Quang smacked a bludger in her direction. A split second before Harry slammed into her again, Kira pulled up into a tight spiral and swerved past Ginny, encircling the players at an incredible speed. The bludger whizzed by Harry's head, narrowly missing him. Enraged, Harry swerved in her direction but she skillfully tossed the ball to Euan, who was hovering above the center goal. Ron, who was taken aback by the scene, had forgotten to guard against him. With a swift move that was very un-Euan-like, the boy flung the Quaffle into the goal as Kira sped past.

As the tryout came to a close, Kira watched smugly from the air as Harry fumed at her from below. She high-fived Euan, who was ecstatic with his accomplishment. As the team settled onto the field, Ginny sent her a glance of satisfaction, and Kira grinned in response.

XXXXXXXXXX

"She can't join the team, Ron!" Harry stated loudly. He, Ron, and Quang were in the locker rooms, changing out of their quidditch robes.

"You know as well as I that she was much better than any other potential chaser out there!" Ron countered.

"Her technique is good, her coordination is wonderful, and her reflexes are brilliant," Quang added.

Harry groaned in frustration.

"But she missed the goal at least four times!"

"That's only because you kept throwing her off. What was up with that, Harry?" questioned Ron, eyeing his friend.

"There was nothing 'up' with it. I need to know if the players can handle the pressure and if they have the ability to improve. Kira Sanden clearly does not!"

"And what evidence have you to prove that?" persisted Ron, sensing Harry would concede soon.

"She just- ah! I can't believe this!"

Ron chuckled, "great excuse, Harry. You know we need her on the team in order to beat Slytherin this year, you don't want to hinder our chances of winning, do you?"

"Of course not, but it's just- just- I don't think it would be a good idea."

Ron rolled his eyes and it was Quang's turn to chuckle at the argument.

The tall redhead opened his mouth to continue the dispute but Harry held up his hand to silence him.

"Just- fine, ok? She'll join the team," Harry muttered.

"Knew you'd see reason, mate," Ron laughed, patting his friend on the back, "let's go."

The three left the locker rooms to find Ginny and Madam Hooch waiting for them on the field.

"I'll be expecting your decisions by tomorrow, Mr. Potter. You have until then to decide who you'll choose to join the team," Madam Hooch said curtly before exiting the pitch.

"So Nolan Priesal is a go, right?" Quang asked, "he was good, could fight off the bludgers well."

"Yeah, Nolan is on the team," Harry told him.

"And the two chaser positions, Toby Hatchett and Kira Sanden get my votes. Kira's skill was obvious and though Toby's small, he's quick," declared Ginny.

Harry felt Ron's eyes.

"Okay," he said in a defeated tone, "Toby and Kira are in."

A/N: Gah how long has it been since I've updated? More than a month at least, sorry guys.

**_IMPORTANT:_** **This chapter was extremely hard to write but now that I've gotten it done I have no clue what I'm going to do for chapter 19! Any ideas? Besides of course your seemingly incredible need to see Harry and Kira snogging in the** **corner? Lol,** **if you have any input for the next chapter, PLEASE tell me in your review!**

And to all of you who keep telling me to have Harry and Kira snog: Lol, patience patience patience! Don't worry, I have stuff planned I just haven't gotten to that part of the story yet. But don't freak! It's not that far away, I promise! A few chapters at the most.

_**IMPORANT ALSO**_: I'm going to bring up the idea of review responses again... Do you want me to respond to reviewers who have questions or not?

Like always, please please please review!


	19. Author's Note

Hey Everyone,

Okay I know you all are going to be mad at my putting up another one of these "Author Note" things, but I'm going to anyway so none of you will be sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for an update.

**I CANNOT GUARANTEE AN UPDATE OF _NEW NEIGHBOR_ ANY TIME SOON.**

And I'm really really really sorry but the reason why is actually pretty simple; I have absolutely no spare time with which to continue my story!

And since I'm not one of those authors who continually bores her readers with silly details about their daily schedule since none of you really care anyway, I'll just leave my explanation as lack of time.

So I'm sorry if some of you are disappointed, mad, or just didn't care in the first place. I love writing this story, and I actually have half a chapter written of chapter 19, but I'm going to put this story on a "temporary hold" anyway.

If you keep me on your author alert list or something, maybe sometime soon you'll see an update, but again, I'm not making an guarantees.

Sorry guys,

squeakyfrappe


End file.
